Three killed as Israeli forces open fire near Gaza food distribution site, officials say

Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip opened fire as people headed towards a food distribution site a kilometre away at around sunrise on Monday, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, health officials and a witness said. The military said it fired warning shots at “suspects” who approached its forces.

The shooting occurred at the same location where witnesses say Israeli forces fired a day earlier on crowds of people heading towards the food distribution hub in southern Gaza run by the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The Israeli military said it fired warning shots on Monday toward “several suspects who advanced toward the troops and posed a threat to them,” around a kilometre (1,000 yards) away from the food distribution site at a time when it was closed. The army denied it was preventing people from reaching the site.