Israeli attack on Gaza killed 34 people, including several nearby aid sites
Medical sources told Al Jazeera that Israeli attacks killed at least 34 Palestinians in Gaza.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Saturday that the Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis was “no longer accessible” after Israeli forces designated the surrounding area as a “dangerous combat zone” and ordered evacuation.
“There are many patients and medical staff in the hospital,” the organization said in a statement. The organization urged international organizations to intervene to provide protection for medical sites and open safe corridors to provide assistance and medical supplies.
The request comes up, medical sources told Al Jazeera that 34 people were killed in an Israeli attack on Saturday, including eight in a shooting near aid allocation site west of Rafassi in southern Gaza.
Palestinians in Gaza have gathered almost every day at the Alam roundabout near Rafa to collect about 1 km (0.6 miles) of center operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Samir Abu Hadid, who was there early Saturday morning, told AFP that thousands of people gathered near the roundabout.
“Some people tried to advance to the aid center, and Israeli occupation forces opened fire on armored vehicles stationed near the center, fired into the air and then fired at civilians,” Abu Hadid said.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
GHF said Friday that its aid center will remain closed until Further notice Because of security concerns, just days after several fatal incidents occurred near its aid center.
“Operation of our distribution points has been suspended until further notice,” a GHF spokesman said Friday, despite warnings from humanitarian agencies that the territory is on the verge of famine.
Israel partially lifted the entire blockade of humanitarian materials entering Gaza last month, which took effect from March 2, but rights groups and the United Nations warned that only tricks that allow aid to flow to the territory.
The United Nations refused to work with the GHF on neutrality, warning that the entire population of Gaza is more than 2 million people at risk of hunger.
In Israel, Defense Minister Katz announced that the military has recovered the body of Thailand's state Natapin Pinta from Rafa, southern Canada.
Pinta is an agricultural worker who was occupied from Kibbutz Nir Oz in an October 7, 2023 attack. Israeli officials said he was held by the Palestinian armed group Jihadists Brigade.
His remains were found along with the remains of two Israeli American prisoners retrieved earlier this week. Pinta's family in Thailand have been notified.
