Six killed and dozens wounded while queuing for aid in Gaza

Dozens taken to Al Shifa hospital hours before ship carrying 200 tonnes of food aid is due to arrive off coast

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Israeli forces killed six Palestinians and wounded at least 83 others waiting for aid in Gaza city on Wednesday night, according to official Palestinian media.

Soldiers opened fire on civilians at the Kuwait Roundabout, the official Wafa news agency reported, and dozens of people were taken to Al Shifa Hospital following the attack.

The site has been the target of several Israeli attacks on Palestinians awaiting humanitarian aid as food and water shortages continue.

The attack came just hours before the expected arrival of an aid ship carrying 200 tonnes of food, including flour, rice and protein. Its departure from Larnaca had been delayed due to “technical issues”.

The ship is the first to use a maritime corridor spearheaded by the UAE, UK and EU, among others.

At least 27 Palestinians, including children, have died of malnutrition and dehydration in recent weeks at Gaza’s hospitals, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Officials have acknowledged that the number of starvation-related deaths is probably much higher outside healthcare facilities, most of which have been forced to close by Israeli air strikes and raids.

Elsewhere in Gaza, at least one person was killed in an air strike on Jabalia refugee camp on Wednesday, while two others were killed in a strike on a vehicle in the southern city of Rafah on Wednesday night.

At least 31,272 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the war began in October, according to the latest figures from the health ministry.

Fears the death toll will keep rising remain high as Israel reiterates its intention to invade Rafah – the last refuge for more than a million people – despite widespread warnings from the UN and global leaders, who have said an offensive on the city would amount to a humanitarian disaster.

Speaking on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will “finish the job” in Rafa, after an army spokesman said civilians currently in the city would be directed to “humanitarian islands” in central Gaza.

The army did not specify when or how this would happen.