Dozens of Palestinians killed making their way to Gaza aid hub: Report

Dozens of Palestinians were killed Sunday on the way to a Gaza aid hub, officials and witnesses said, according to The Associated Press.

Crowds were fired upon by Israeli forces close to 1,000 yards from an Israeli-supported aid foundation’s site, witnesses said, the AP reported. Thirty-one people died and 170 were injured, the Gaza Health Ministry said, according to the outlet. 

Israel’s army said in a statement it was “currently unaware of injuries caused by [Israeli military] fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site,” according to the AP.

A statement from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation pushed back on stories of disorder and gunfire near its sites and said that aid was provided by the foundation “without incident,” the outlet reported.

Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip since Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the country has caused mass destruction of infrastructure in the territory, as well as widespread death and injury among the residents of Gaza. 

The dire situation faced by Gaza’s residents has resulted in international pressure on Israel over its treatment of those living in the territory, with figures like the newly minted Pope Leo XIV calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron saying in a recent statement that they were “strongly” against “the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.”

“The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable. Yesterday’s announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is wholly inadequate. We call on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza,” the joint statement, posted on the social platform X by Carney on May 19, read.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.