The GHF also strongly urged aid seekers travelling to its locations to “follow the routes” set by the Israeli military to “ensure safe passage”.
The Israeli military warned Palestinians on Wednesday not to approach GHF aid distribution sites while “reorganisation work” was under way, saying that access roads to those locations would be “considered combat zones”.
Israel’s military has not apparently issued any new directive regarding the safety of the GHF distribution sites as they remain closed for a second day.
The Israeli attack killed at least 27 people and injured about 90 more, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
One person was also shot dead at another aid distribution site, south of the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, on the same day.
Following a full day of closure on Wednesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a covert organization supported by the US and Israel, stated that it would not immediately resume aid distribution in the war-torn region. Instead, it stated that it would resume operations once its distribution sites have undergone maintenance and repairs.
The GHF said in a Facebook statement that it would “share information on opening times as soon as work is complete” and that its “distribution sites will not open as early as” Thursday morning.
The GHF also emphasized that in order to “ensure safe passage,” aid workers visiting its locations should “follow the routes” established by the Israeli military.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military issued a warning to Palestinians, stating that access roads to GHF aid distribution sites would be “considered combat zones” while “reorganization work” was underway.
The GHF distribution sites have been closed for a second day, and it appears that Israel’s military has not issued any new directives regarding their safety.
Following the fourth round of gunfire from Israeli forces on aid-seeking Palestinians near a GHF distribution site in Rafah, southern Gaza, early Tuesday, GHF suspended its food supply distribution in Gaza.
At least 27 people were killed in the Israeli attack, and the Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that another 90 people were injured.
At least 31 people were killed and over 150 injured when Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of aid workers near the same location in Rafah on Sunday, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense agency. On the same day, another aid distribution location in central Gaza, south of the Netzarim Corridor, saw one fatal shooting.
Then, on Monday, Israeli forces once more opened fire close to the GHF’s Rafah distribution site, killing three more people and injuring roughly thirty more.
“Unprecedented” mass casualty events.
According to the Israeli military, its forces only fired warning shots at individuals who were not using “designated access routes,” refuting reports that they had opened fire on civilians inside or close to the GHF aid distribution site on Sunday.
Soldiers only fired at those who “were approaching in a way that endangered” the troops, according to Israeli army spokesperson Effie Defrin.
The GHF, which started frantic aid distribution operations on May 26, has also called reports of mass deaths of aid seekers “outright fabrications,” asserting that it has not yet seen any proof of an attack at or close to its facilities.
Following Sunday’s attack, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that it had received a “mass casualty influx of 179 cases,” including 21 patients who were “declared dead upon arrival.”. According to the group, the majority of the victims had “gunshot or shrapnel wounds,” and women and children were among the dead.
Additionally, Gaza’s Palestinian population is dealing with “unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents,” according to the ICRC.
International outrage has been sparked by reports of aid seekers being killed by Israeli forces in recent days. Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has called for “perpetrators to be held accountable” and an independent investigation into the deaths.
On Wednesday, the United Kingdom demanded an “immediate and independent investigation” into the fatal events. Hamish Falconer, the UK’s Middle East Minister, described Israel’s new aid delivery policies as “inhumane” and said the deaths were “deeply disturbing.”.
Israel is still advancing its broader attack on Gaza, and according to Gaza’s Civil Defense, at least 48 people were killed in attacks throughout the Strip on Wednesday. At least 18 people were killed in an attack on a tent in southern Khan Younis that was providing shelter to displaced Palestinians.
The bodies of two Israeli hostages who were taken to Gaza during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel were recovered, the Israeli military confirmed Thursday.
In a statement, the military claimed that the remains had been recovered from southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
The 2023 attack resulted in at least 1,139 fatalities and about 250 other people being captured and transported to Gaza. Israel estimates that at least 20 of the 56 prisoners still detained in Gaza are still alive.
Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza in response to the attack has killed at least 54,418 Palestinians and injured 124,190 more, according to data from the Health Ministry of the enclave.
A proposed UN Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” and unrestricted access to humanitarian aid throughout Gaza was once again vetoed by the US on Wednesday.
