Red Cross confirms 27 killed in Gaza after gunfire on aid seekers

GAZA: The International Committee of the Red Cross said its field hospital in Gaza’s Rafah city recorded 27 deaths on Tuesday, matching a toll given by rescuers after Israeli forces opened fire near an aid centre.

“Early this morning, the 60-bed Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah received a mass casualty influx of 184 patients. This includes 19 cases who were declared dead upon arrival and eight more who died due to their wounds shortly after,” the ICRC said.

The organisation added in a statement that survivors of the early morning incident said they had been “trying to reach an assistance distribution site”.

Gaza’s civil defence agency earlier said 27 people were killed after Israeli troops fired on a crowd near a US-backed aid distribution centre.

The Israeli military said some people moving towards the aid centre had left the designated route, prompting “warning fire”.

“After the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects,” a military statement added.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised statement that the “suspects… were approaching in a way that endangered… the safety of the soldiers”.

“The incident is being investigated”, he added.

The ICRC said Tuesday’s shooting caused “the highest number of weapon-wounded patients received in a single incident” since the field hospital opened more than a year ago.

“The unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents treated at the field hospital is deeply worrying and illustrates the harrowing reality that civilians in Gaza are being forced to endure,” it added.

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A similar shooting incident occurred near the same aid centre on Sunday, when rescuers reported 31 killed by Israeli gunfire and a military source acknowledged “warning shots were fired towards several suspects”.

The ICRC had said it received 179 patients that day, including at least 21 who were pronounced dead.