Israeli troops killed Palestinians heading to a new Gaza food site, eyewitnesses say
Reports of deadly shootings by the Israeli military close to a new food distribution site in Gaza are coming under heavy criticism from the U.S.-backed group distributing the food.
A deadly shooting in Gaza this weekend left at least 21 people dead and more than 150 wounded as they were seeking food, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Palestinian eyewitnesses say people were heading toward a new food distribution site when Israeli troops fired at them.
The U.S. ambassador for Israel says there was no such shooting and says U.S. media outlets reporting it are spreading, quote, “utterly fabricated stories.” Today, the Israeli military acknowledged its troops fired warning shots at Palestinians in a separate incident near the same food site. Gaza health officials say at least two were killed.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
In Gaza, the big picture, aid workers say, is that not enough people are getting food. None has reached north Gaza in more than three months. The World Food Programme keeps trying to deliver flour there, but their trucks have been looted says the WFP’s Corinne Fleischer.