Dozens of Palestinians killed near Gaza aid distribution point in Israeli shooting

TAM Desk ||

Palestinians on their way to receive aid from a distribution site in southern Gaza have come under fire for a third consecutive day, with nearly 30 people killed and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser hospital.

The ministry said Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians as they made their way to the distribution site in Tel al-Sultan in Rafah early Tuesday.

The Israeli military said its forces opened fire multiple times after identifying “several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes.”

According to CNN, Palestinians pray during a funeral for people who were killed while heading to a Gaza aid hub, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, June 1, 2025.

“The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement, which also said they are looking into reports of casualties.

At least 27 people were killed and dozens injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry and the director of Nasser hospital in Gaza.

Footage obtained by CNN showed people arriving at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, many on stretchers.

Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the head of field hospitals in Gaza, said Nasser has been overwhelmed by the number of casualties coming in.

“Only if someone dies inside the intensive care units, only then can we make availability for the next patient,” he told CNN. Al-Hams said the injuries he was seeing were primarily the result of gunfire and concentrated in patients’ upper bodies.

The hospital called for urgent blood donations.

The gunfire on Tuesday occurred west of Rafah in the area surrounding the Al-Alam roundabout, according to paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, near the same location as shooting incidents the last two days.

The area is part of an Israeli military operation across Khan Younis, according to a diplomat who monitors developments in Gaza, who said Israeli forces fired toward a large group of Palestinians they perceived as “an imminent threat” as the Palestinians tried to reach the aid distribution site.