Palestinians killed in shooting near Gaza aid site, reports say

Palestinians are reported to have been killed and wounded in another shooting as they gathered near an aid distribution site in central Gaza.

According to Palestinian journalists, those killed were fired on by Israeli troops. Information on Saturday's incident is scarce as the internet has been down in Gaza for more than two days.

There has been no comment from the IDF as yet. In previous incidents, the Israeli military said troops opened fire when suspects approached them in what they deemed a threatening manner.

Many of those waiting to pick up aid may not know that the distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - backed by Israel and the US - are closed until Sunday.

The organisation posts updates on its Facebook page, which only those with e-sim cards on their phones are able to access, because of the internet blackout.

This has only added to the confusion that has increasingly surrounded the delivery of aid in Gaza, with each day seeing incidents in which people are shot at by Israeli troops or local gunmen.

Aid supplies and the internet are vital for people in Gaza - the current lack of both lifelines is rendering their plight even more desperate.

Large numbers of Palestinians appear to be staying near the aid distribution sites - one in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza and three others further south - so that they will be ready to get hold of food parcels when and if they are opened.

There is also increasing concern being expressed by aid groups and medics that Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza may lose its ability to provide essential treatment for those with injuries from shootings near distribution points in Rafah.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that Nasser Hospital is struggling to function.

An ICRC source initially suggested most of Nasser Hospital's healthcare workers had left - following the expansion of evacuation orders from the IDF - but later clarified that the hospital had lost around 10% of its staff.

One of the doctors who has recently been working at Nasser Hospital, Dr Feroze Sidwa, has called for international support to keep it going.

"If international law has any remaining relevance, Nasser must be protected and resupplied, and its staff must be protected immediately," Dr Sidwa said.

Dr Victoria Rose, who was working at Nasser hospital in May, issued an even more urgent warning: "This is the only hospital in the south of Gaza. Nowhere else has ITU beds, a CT scanner, oxygen generating capability, haemodialysis or a blood bank.

"Hundreds of patients will instantly die and all surgery will now have to take place in tents."

It has been 20 months since Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 55,207 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.