Israeli strikes kill 60 in Gaza, including 31 near aid distribution site

Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that 31 Palestinians seeking aid were among at least 60 people killed on Friday by Israeli forces, marking the latest in a series of deadly incidents near aid distribution points.

Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for the civil defense, told AFP that five individuals were killed while waiting for aid in southern Gaza, and 26 others were killed near the Netzarim corridor, a central, Israeli-controlled strip of land dividing the Palestinian territory.

Thousands of Palestinians have been gathering there daily, hoping to receive food rations as famine threatens Gaza after more than 20 months of ongoing conflict.

The Israeli military informed AFP that its troops in the Netzarim area initially fired “warning shots” at “suspects” who were approaching them.

When those individuals continued moving forward, “an aircraft struck and eliminated the suspects to neutralize the threat,” the military said.

Similar events have frequently occurred in this area since late May, after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—supported by the U.S. and Israel—opened distribution centers as Israel relaxed a two-month blockade on aid.

The privately run foundation’s activities in Gaza have been plagued by disorderly scenes. U.N. agencies and major humanitarian groups have declined to cooperate with the foundation, citing concerns it serves Israeli military interests.

Elsewhere in Gaza on Friday, Bassal reported that 14 people died in two separate strikes near the central city of Deir el-Balah, and another 13 were killed in three Israeli airstrikes around Gaza City.

One of these strikes hit a phone charging station in Gaza City, killing three people, according to Bassal.

In southern Gaza, two individuals were killed by Israeli gunfire in separate incidents.

Due to Israeli restrictions on media and limited access to some locations within Gaza, AFP could not independently verify the casualty figures and details provided by the civil defense.

The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Al-Quds Brigades announced on Friday that it targeted an Israeli military post in the southern city of Khan Yunis, claiming to have inflicted casualties on Israeli forces.

When contacted, the Israeli military declined to comment.

Much of Khan Yunis, like large parts of Gaza, remains under Israeli military evacuation orders.