At least 20 individuals lost their lives and 155 others sustained injuries in shelling on Thursday as they had gathered for food aid in Gaza, CNN reported citing the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave. Dr Mohammad Ghrab, working at the emergency unit of Al Shifa Hospital, stated that the number of fatalities may increase as more casualties are being transferred to the hospital.
An eyewitness present at the scene said several people died at the spot with purported videos displaying numerous bodies strewn across the area. The Palestinian health ministry termed the event as "a consequence of the Israeli occupation forces targeting a crowd of civilians awaiting humanitarian aid to quench their thirst at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza."
What eyewitnesses said?
According to eyewitnesses, the area was struck by what sounded like artillery fire or a tank. In a statement on Thursday, Gaza Civil Defense Spokesman Mahmoud Basal accused Israel of being responsible for the attack, CNN reported. "The Israeli occupation forces are still practising the policy of killing innocent citizens waiting for relief aid as a result of the famine occurring in the northern Gaza Strip," CNN quoted Mahmoud Basal as saying. Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) announced that humanitarian aid will for the first time enter Gaza by sea.
"Humanitarian aid entering Gaza from land, air and sea: For the first time, humanitarian aid to arrive to Gaza by sea. A ship carrying humanitarian aid from @WCKitchen and funded by UAE set sail on Tue. from the Larnaca port in Cyprus toward Gaza," the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stated in a post on X.
Hamas Operations Unit's commander killed
Amid the ongoing war with Israel, Muhammad Abu Hasna, a commander in Hamas' Operations Unit, was precisely targeted and eliminated in the area of Rafah, the IDF informed on Thursday. Taking to X, IDF posted, "Hadi Ali Mustafa, a Hamas terrorist in Lebanon responsible for advancing Hamas' international activity and terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets. The IDF will continue to operate against Hamas in every area in which it operates."
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