Thousands of people had gathered in Khan Yunis on Tuesday to try to get hold of a sack of donated flour when chaos broke out.
Israeli drones fired on the inhabitants. Minutes later, Israeli armored vehicles fired several grenades at the people, resulting in a large number of martyrs and wounded, says civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal to the news agency AFP.
Israel admits to shooting
The Ministry of Health in Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip writes on Telegram that victims have arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after a "massacre of citizens waiting for aid" on Tuesday morning. The hospital confirms the number of injured and dead, reports AP.
At the hospital, Samaher Meqdad is searching for her two brothers and a nephew who are missing after the shooting, writes the news agency.
Why are they shooting at young people? Why? Are we not human beings?
The emergency and intensive care departments are described as heavily overloaded and many of the injured are said to be in a very serious condition.
Israel's military admits to having fired at a gathering of people near a distribution point for emergency aid in Khan Yunis, reports the newspaper Haaretz. According to the military, they opened fire after the crowd approached the Israeli soldiers. However, they do not admit to having injured or killed anyone.
Internet down in Gaza
Further north, at the Netzarim corridor which separates southern and northern Gaza Strip, aid-seekers have also been shot at on Tuesday, reports Al Jazeera. There, around 60 people are said to have been injured.
The internet is down in the southern and central parts of Gaza, according to the Palestinian telecommunications authority. The outage is due to a cable break that the authority accuses Israel of having caused.
The entire Gaza Strip was without internet connection for three days at the end of last week. The outages make it difficult for residents to receive Israel's warnings before attacks.
