Strike On Palestinians Waiting for Aid in Gaza Kills and Wounds Dozens
Palestinians wait for humanitarian aid on a beachfront in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Israel and Hamas are inching toward a new deal that would free some of the roughly 130 hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a weeks-long pause in the war, now in its fifth month. A deal would bring some respite to desperate people in Gaza, who have borne a staggering toll in the war, as well as to the anguished families of hostages taken during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the
- By Associated Press (AP)
- February 29, 2024 6:00 PM
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An apparent Israeli strike on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday has killed and wounded dozens, according to local hospital officials.
Dr. Jadallah Shafai, the head of the nursing department at Shifa Hospital, told the Al Jazeera network that around 50 people were killed and 250 wounded. He did not provide a precise toll.
Al Jazeera ran footage showing several bodies and injured people arriving at Shifa.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.
Fares Afana, the head of the ambulance service at Kamal Adwan Hospital, said medics arriving at the scene found “dozens or hundreds” lying on the ground. He said there were not enough ambulances to collect all the dead and wounded and that some were being brought to hospitals on donkey carts.
Dr, Mohammad Salha, the acting director of the Al-Awda Hospital, said it received 90 wounded and three dead, who were transferred to Kamal Adwan.
“We expect a rise in the number killed,” he said. “There are many wounded still at the reception and the emergency room.”
He said Al-Awda is largely out of commission, with no electricity and the operating room running on battery power with only hours left. Gaza's health sector is under severe strain nearly five months into the Israel-Hamas war.
