‘Massacre’: Israel forces attack crowds waiting for aid in Gaza, killing 21

At least 21 Palestinians have been killed after Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of people waiting for aid in Gaza City in the same area that was targeted hours earlier, government officials said.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza described the late Thursday attack as a “new, premeditated massacre” and said more than 150 people were wounded.

It was the latest in a string of assaults on people desperately in need of food and other essential supplies as Israel continues to obstruct and severely control the entry of aid into the enclave.

Earlier on Thursday, at the same food distribution point at the Kuwait Roundabout, Israeli forces had shot dead at least six Palestinians, as the death toll has risen to more than 400 people in such attacks.

The Israeli military denied that its forces had opened fire on the crowds and claimed instead that “armed Palestinians” were responsible for the attack.

“Armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy” in Gaza City on Thursday and then “continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began looting the trucks”, the military said in a statement on Friday.

“Additionally, a number of Gazan civilians were run over by the trucks,” it said, adding that a preliminary review determined that its forces did not carry out the attack with tanks, guns or air strikes.

Weapon of war

Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the ongoing killings of aid seekers represent a breakdown in communication between aid groups and Israeli authorities.

“It’s a clear sign that the deconfliction system, in which humanitarian agencies and the UN notify and correspond with Israel … is completely failing,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that this system is meant to allow aid agencies to inform Israel of routes they will take to ensure they aren’t targeted.

“This is something that is preventable and shouldn’t be happening,” Low added.

Rights groups say that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians.