Camille Naredo

A Palestinian youth walks amidst the rubble, following overnight Israeli strikes, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 29, 2025. Eyad Baba, AFP/File

A Palestinian youth walks amidst the rubble, following overnight Israeli strikes, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 29, 2025. Israel resumed its military campaign in the Gaza Strip on March 18. A ceasefire agreement that had largely halted the fighting for two months before that collapsed over disagreements between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose 2023 attack triggered the war. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Article (news)

CONFLICT

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750091645409AFP__20250429__43UW69D__v1__Preview__PalestinianIsraelConflict.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A Palestinian youth walks amidst the rubble, following overnight Israeli strikes, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 29, 2025. Eyad Baba, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A Palestinian youth walks amidst the rubble, following overnight Israeli strikes, at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 29, 2025. <em>Eyad Baba, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories -- Gaza&#x27;s civil defense agency said Israeli troops killed 20 people waiting to collect food on Monday, in the latest deadly incident near a US-backed aid centre in the Palestinian territory&#x27;s south.</p><p>Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that &quot;the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire&quot; near the Al-Alam roundabout in the southern city of Rafah, where many were waiting to reach an aid distribution site.</p><p>Bassal said that &quot;20 martyrs and more than 200 wounded by occupation gunfire&quot; were taken to nearby hospitals.</p><p>Ahmed al-Farra, head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Yunis, told AFP that people &quot;are hungry, they didn&#x27;t get any food since nearly four months ago&quot;.</p><p>In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on the Gaza Strip amid an impasse in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May.</p><p>&quot;All the borders are closed and this is the only way to get aid,&quot; Farra said of US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites.</p><p>&quot;And when they get there they are killed by snipers, as you can see.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/6/6/what-is-genocide-and-is-it-happening-in-gaza-1121">READ: What is genocide and is it happening in Gaza?</a></div><p>Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.</p><p>The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had received 200 people at its field hospital in the Al-Mawasi area near Rafah, without elaborating on the circumstances.</p><p>In a statement on X, it said it was &quot;the highest number received by the Red Cross Field Hospital in one mass casualty incident&quot;.</p><p>Red Cross teams also treated 170 patients at the hospital on Sunday, &quot;many of whom were wounded by gunshots, and who reported that they were trying to access a food distribution site&quot;, the statement said.</p><p>Israel has faced mounting international pressure over humanitarian conditions in Gaza, which the United Nations described in May as &quot;the hungriest place on Earth&quot;.</p><p>The GHF began distributing aid in late May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and dozens of deaths.</p><p>The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the organization citing neutrality issues they say violate humanitarian principles.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/6/10/israel-deports-greta-thunberg-after-intercepting-gaza-bound-aid-boat-1833">READ: Israel deports Greta Thunberg after intercepting Gaza-bound aid boat</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/6/14/gulf-states-anxious-about-being-drawn-into-israel-iran-fight-1051">READ: Gulf states anxious about being drawn into Israel-Iran fight</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Intense hostilities&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U2rbGzusHAI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>Following previous incidents around GHF sites, the Israeli military has said its troops fired warning shots and were reacting to people approaching them in a way they considered threatening.</p><p>Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and other difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.</p><p>The ICRC said in its statement that &quot;civilians continue to be killed and injured as intense hostilities continue. Due to the ongoing restrictions of humanitarian assistance, people are also struggling to access basic goods, including fuel&quot;.</p><p>The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 55,432 people have been killed in the territory since the start of the war, which is now in its 21st month.</p><p>Of those, 5,139 have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 following a truce.</p><p>The war was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to official Israeli figures.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli troops killed 20 people waiting to collect food on Monday, in the latest deadly incident near a US-backed aid centre in the Palestinian territory's south.</p>

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli troops killed 20 people waiting to collect food on Monday, in the latest deadly incident near a US-backed aid centre in the Palestinian territory's south.

Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 20 waiting for aid

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Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 20 waiting for aid

Agence France-Presse

Published June 17, 2025 12:40 AM PHT

Read More:

Gaza

Hamas

Palestine

Israel-Hamas War

Rafah

Red Cross

humanitarian aid

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