Early on Tuesday morning, people on their way to a distribution site for emergency aid outside Rafah in southern Gaza were shot at.
"Early this morning, the Red Cross hospital in Rafah received 184 patients. 19 of them were confirmed dead on arrival, and another 8 died shortly after", the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) states in a statement.
The Palestinian civil defense spokesperson tells AFP that the Israeli forces opened fire from tanks and launched a drone attack on "thousands of civilians who had assembled at dawn" outside Rafah.
The Israeli military claims to have opened fire on a smaller group of "suspects" outside the aid area.
Questionable Aid Organization
The distribution site belongs to the questionable initiative Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which Israel and the US have established. It has been tasked with carrying out aid efforts to war-torn Gaza since Israel stopped other aid efforts.
GHF claims that its operations have continued "without incidents", but refers to Israel's military for matters that occur outside its area.
The organization is heavily criticized by, among others, the UN, which does not cooperate with GHF. It has also had leadership issues, as a former chief left the operation.
On Tuesday, the evangelical pastor Johnnie Moore - who has worked closely with President Donald Trump - was appointed as the new leader of GHF.
"Constitutes War Crimes"
"For the third day in a row, people were killed at a distribution site for aid run by GHF. This morning, we received reports that dozens of people were killed or injured", says the UN's human rights chief Volker Türk.
He describes it as Palestinians in Gaza being forced to choose between dying of hunger or risking being killed when they try to get hold of the little food available.
"Attacks directed against civilians constitute serious violations of international law and war crimes", Türk adds.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemns the incident with the fatalities in Gaza, and calls what happened "unacceptable".
