Palestinians say Israel and its allies fired on a crowd near Gaza aid site. Hospital says 14 killed

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces and allied local gunmen fired toward a crowd heading to an Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution center in the Gaza Strip early Monday, Palestinians said. Gaza's Health Ministry and local hospitals said 14 people were killed.

The gunmen appeared to be allied with Israel's military, operating in close proximity to troops and retreating into an Israeli military zone in the southern city of Rafah after the crowd hurled stones at them, witnesses said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel recently acknowledged supporting local armed groups opposed to Hamas.

The latest in a string of shootings

It was the latest in a series of shootings that have killed at least 127 people and wounded hundreds since the rollout of a new food distribution system last month, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israel and the United States say the new system is designed to circumvent Hamas, but it has been rejected by the U.N. and major aid groups.

Experts have warned that Israel's blockade and ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians almost completely rely on international aid because nearly all food production capabilities have been destroyed.

Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centers. Previously, Israel's military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centers, which are in military zones off limits to independent media.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centers themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centers represents ''a great danger.'' It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to discuss with the military about improving safety on the routes.

GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the ''chaos of the crowds,'' according to a Facebook site associated with the group. A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shots fired from the ‘dangerous zone'

Heba Joda, who was in the crowd, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometer (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the ''dangerous zone'' where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed.

She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organize the crowds into lines on the road. When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones, forcing the gunmen to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said.

The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centers in southern Gaza. GHF has said it does not work with the Abu Shabab group. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. aid trucks.

Hussein Shamimi, who was in the crowd, said his 14-year-old cousin was among those killed.

''There was an ambush … the Israelis from one side and Abu Shabab from another,'' he said.

Mohamed Kabaga said he saw masked men firing toward the crowds after trying to organize them. ''They fired at us directly,'' he said while being treated at Nasser Hospital, in the nearby city of Khan Younis. He had been shot in the neck, as were three other people seen by an Associated Press journalist there.

Kabaga said he saw around 50 masked men with 4x4 vehicles in the area around the roundabout, close to Israeli military lines. "We didn't receive anything,'' he said. ''They shot us.''

Nasser Hospital said they had received 14 bodies from aid-related incidents. More than 99 people were injured, said Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry's records department.

A new aid system marred by controversy

Israel has demanded GHF replace the U.N.-run system that has distributed food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians since the war began. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid and using it to fund militant activities, but U.N. officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion.

The U.N. and other humanitarian groups have rejected the GHF system. They say the mechanism is incapable of meeting Gaza's huge demands and that it is being used for Israel's military purposes, including its goal to move Gaza's entire population to the south of the territory.

Throughout the war, the U.N.-led network has delivered supplies at hundreds of distribution points around Gaza, meaning large crowds haven't had to trek for hours past Israeli troops to receive aid.

Israel sealed off Gaza from all food, medicine and fuel at the beginning of March, shortly before it ended a ceasefire with Hamas. It began allowing small amounts of aid in last month, but U.N. agencies say they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting.

20 months of war

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. They are still holding 55 hostages, more than half believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,900 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up most of the dead. It does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants. The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced some 90% of the population.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will continue the war until all hostages are returned and Hamas is defeated or disarmed and sent into exile.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries, a plan rejected by most of the international community including the Palestinians, who view it as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.

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Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war