At least 48 killed and 300 injured while waiting for aid in Gaza, officials say
by Jacob Paul · LBCBy Jacob Paul
At least 48 people have been killed while waiting for food in Gaza, a hospital has said, while the Hamas-run civil defence agency has claimed 300 more were injured by Israeli gunfire.
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The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed they fired "warning shots" after crowds gathered around aid trucks 3km southwest of the Zikim crossing - the primary entry point for humanitarian aid in the north of the Gaza Strip.
They have argued they were "not aware of any casualties" from the gunfire, saying details of the incident "are still being examined".
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said 35 bodies were delivered to his site in the aftermath, AFP reports.
The hospital said at least 48 people were killed in the incident.
A spokesperson from the Gaza civil defence agency told AFP that Israeli fire injured around 300 more people.
Read more: Dozens die in Gaza despite Israeli-declared ‘humanitarian pause’, health officials say
It comes after more than a hundred Palestinians died across the Gaza Strip within hours of Israel declaring daily ‘humanitarian pauses’ in operations to facilitate aid delivery, according to health officials.
On Saturday, Israel said it would establish humanitarian corridors to enable UN convoys to transport aid into Gaza, as well as airdrops.
In a statement, the country's military said it would allow "safe movement of deliveries of food and medicine" but that the military "emphasises that combat operations have not ceased".
The aid pauses see Israel’s military suspending operations every day between the hours of 10am and 8pm in parts of central and northern Gaza including Gaza City, Al-Mawasi and Deir el-Balah, as the IDF promised to open aid corridors from 6am to 11pm to allow food and medical supplies to enter the enclave.
The move comes amid international condemnation of the starvation crisis in Gaza, but Israel said it would continue military operations alongside the new humanitarian measures.
It comes as Keir Starmer said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state by September, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire.
He was joined by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has followed Sir Keir's lead.
Sir Keir said that the UK could recognise a Palestinian state as soon as the UN General Assembly in September, unless Israel takes “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza”.
He said the Israeli government must reach a ceasefire, make clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commit to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution.