THIRTY-EIGHT Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza yesterday, according to local health authorities, as a US- and Israeli-backed group said it had handed out aid in the enclave after earlier saying that its distribution sites were closed.
Health authorities said strikes had killed people in Gaza’s Jabaliya, Tuffah and Khan Younis areas.
Witnesses and medics told Reuters that Israeli planes and tanks had intensified strikes on Jabaliya and nearby Beit Hanoun since the early hours.
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders to residents of certain blocks in northern Gaza yesterday, spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X.
The evacuation order came at the beginning of the Eid Al Adha holiday, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim calendar.
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said it had delivered aid, despite earlier announcing on its official Facebook page that its distribution sites were closed until further notice and that people should stay away from the sites “for their safety” after a series of deadly shootings.
The GHF opened two sites in southern Gaza on Thursday after closing all of its centres the previous day in the wake of shootings in the vicinity of its operations. It has so far operated four distribution centres.
The organisation bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies.
Palestinians collecting aid from GHF sites said that there was no clear distribution system, describing the process as disorganised and chaotic. Footage released this week by the organisation has shown similar scenes at one of its sites.
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