At least 21 Palestinians killed while heading to Gaza aid hub, hospital says

At least 21 people were killed and scores wounded Sunday as they were on their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, according to a Red Cross field hospital and multiple witnesses.The witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds around 1,000 yards from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation.The military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The foundation said in a statement that it delivered aid “without incident” early Sunday and has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent access is limited.Officials at the field hospital said at least 21 people were killed and another 175 people were wounded, without saying who opened fire on them.An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of people being treated at the hospital.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 did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday “without incident.” It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.”The gunfire on Sunday erupted at a roundabout around 1,000 yards from the distribution site, in an area that is controlled by Israeli forces, witnesses said.Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution center.“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old resident said.“We were about 300 yards away from the military.”Abu Saoud said he s...