31 killed while heading to a Gaza aid hub

Rafah, June 2: At least 31 people were killed and scores were wounded on Sunday as they were on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, according to health officials and multiple witnesses. The witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds around a kilometer (1,000 yards) away from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation.

The army released a brief statement saying it was "currently unaware of injuries caused by (Israeli military) fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site. The matter is still under review."

The foundation said in a statement that it delivered aid "without incident" early on Sunday and has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent access is limited.

The Gaza Health Ministry said 31 people were killed and 170 others were wounded.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation 's distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites. Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded according to local health officials.

The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.

The foundation said in a statement that it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday "without incident," and dismissed what it referred to as "false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos."

Thousands of people headed toward the distribution site hours before dawn. As they headed toward the site, Israeli forces ordered them to disperse and come back later, witnesses said. When the crowds reached the Flag Roundabout, around 1 kilometer (1,000 yards) away, at around 3 a.m., Israeli forces opened fire, the witnesses said.

"There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones," said Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd.

He said he saw at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several other wounded people, including women. People used carts to ferry the dead and wounded to the field hospital. "The scene was horrible," he said.

Most of the casualties were shot "in the upper part of their bodies, including the head, neck and chest," said Dr. Marwan al-Hams, a health ministry official at Nasser Hospital, where many of the wounded were transferred after being initially brought to a field hospital run by the Red Cross.

Ibrahim Abu Saoud, another eyewitness said the military fired from about 300 meters (yards) away. Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. "We weren't able to help him," he said.(AP)