Attack kills 20 and injures 155 at Gaza food aid point, as Israel denies responsibility

Gaza’s health ministry says at least 20 people were killed and 155 wounded by Israeli shelling as they waited for desperately needed food on Thursday, a claim that Israel vehemently denied, as Palestinians increasingly face deadly violence in their search for aid.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a preliminary review found Israeli forces “did not open fire at the aid convoy in Kuwait Square,” instead claiming that “armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy.”

The death toll is expected to rise as casualties are still being transferred to the hospital, according to Mohammad Ghrab, a doctor at the emergency unit at Al Shifa Hospital. Earlier, a witness on the scene said dozens of people had been killed in the latest deadly episode at a food aid location in Gaza.