At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in southern Gaza on Tuesday, health officials said, in a third day running of chaos and bloodshed to blight the aid operation.

The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire on a group of people they viewed as a threat after they left a designated access route near the distribution centre in Rafah and approached their positions.

It added it was still investigating what had happened.

The deaths came hours after Israel said three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza, as its forces pushed ahead with a months-long offensive against Hamas militants that has laid much of the enclave to waste.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza.

An International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson said its field hospital in Rafah had received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.

Video showed injured people, including at least one woman, being rushed to a medical centre on carts drawn by donkeys.

Health officials said at least 18 more Palestinians were killed in other military strikes in the territory on Tuesday.

The United Nations human rights office in Geneva said on Tuesday the impediment of access to food relief for civilians in Gaza might constitute a war crime and described attacks on people trying to access food aid as “unconscionable”.

The head of the UN agency, Volker Turk, urged a prompt and impartial investigation into the killings.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer denied that civilians had been targeted.

“The IDF is doing everything in its power to allow Gazans to get to the humanitarian aid. The IDF is not preventing the arrival of Gazans at humanitarian aid sites. Indeed, we are encouraging it,” Mencer said.

PANDEMONIUM

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza’s 2.3 million population, most of whom have been forced to abandon their homes to flee fighting.

The Foundation’s operation, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has been fiercely criticised by the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.

The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it had distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and stressed that the reported violence had not happened within its site.

“This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and control. We recognize the difficult nature of the situation and advise all civilians to remain in the safe corridor when traveling to our distribution sites.”

Palestinians who collected food boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no-one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as crowds jostled for provisions.

“It is complete chaos and humiliation, and people have no choice but to keep coming because there is no food in Gaza,” said one Palestinian, who declined to be named, adding he was lucky to have survived the shootings.

MASS EVACUATIONS

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials said at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military has called reports of deaths during Sunday’s distribution “fabrications” by Hamas.

The military issued new evacuation orders for several districts of Khan Younis in southern Gaza late on Monday, telling residents to move west towards the Mawasi humanitarian area and warning that the army would act forcefully against militants in those areas.

Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas in Gaza.

The territory’s health ministry said the new evacuation orders could halt work at the Nasser Hospital, the largest, still-functioning medical facility in the south.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 assault in which Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

In the subsequent fighting, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, local health authorities say.

Meanwhile, recent efforts to secure a ceasefire appear to have stalled. Israel has said it accepts a US-backed temporary truce to release hostages, while Hamas wants a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.