30 Palestinians killed, 150 injured as Israeli forces open fire on aid seekers in southern Gaza

By Ikram Kouachi

At least 30 Palestinians were killed and more than 150 wounded on Sunday after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians seeking aid in Al-Mawasi, west of Rafah in southern Gaza, medical sources told Anadolu.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces used live ammunition from ground vehicles and armed quadcopter drones to target people who had gathered to receive humanitarian aid.

Sunday’s deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed near aid distribution sites to 39 in less than a week, with over 220 injured during the same period, according to an Anadolu tally based on Palestinian sources.

Since March 2, Israel has kept all border crossings shut, cutting off the entry of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies for Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

Israel has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million population.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.