15 killed near Gaza aid center, according to Civil Defense; Israeli army admits to firing "warning shots"

The Civil Defense in Gaza said 15 people were killed Tuesday by Israeli forces' fire on individuals trying to enter a food aid distribution center, while the Israeli army admitted to firing "warning shots."

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed near food aid distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since late May, according to the Civil Defense and the International Red Cross.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations in late May after Israel partially lifted the blockade that had deprived residents of vital aid.

Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP that 12 people were killed "at 6 or 7" a.m. Tuesday after Israeli drones opened fire on people waiting to enter a food distribution center run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the central Gaza Strip.

Basal said that three people were killed between 2:30 and 5:00 a.m. Tuesday by Israeli fire and shelling north of Wadi Gaza as they waited to enter the center.

"Several thousand civilians and hungry individuals had gathered, hoping to reach the American aid center near the Wadi Gaza Bridge and the Netzarim Corridor," Basal told AFP.

The Netzarim Corridor is a strip of land under Israeli military control that stretches from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the northern Gaza Strip from the rest of the territory.

The Israeli military acknowledged that it fired "warning shots" during an incident near a food distribution center on Tuesday, but noted that the number of wounded did not match its figures.

The army said in a statement that "soldiers fired warning shots to deter suspects who were advancing in the Wadi Gaza area and posed a threat."

The army continued in its statement, "Warning shots were fired several hundred meters from the aid distribution site before it opened its doors, and toward the suspects who posed a threat to the soldiers."

The army did not mention any drone fire at the crowd.

Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp said it received three bodies and 100 wounded in the incident near the Wadi Gaza bridge.

Due to restrictions on journalistic work in the Gaza Strip and the difficulty of field access amid the ongoing fighting, it is difficult to confirm the numbers and circumstances of the deaths reported by the Civil Defense.