A column of smoke rises amid Israeli bombardment in the east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday — AFP GAZA, June 16 (AFP/AP): Gaza's civil defence agency said that 38 people waiting for aid in the south of the Palestinian territory were killed by Israeli troops on Monday.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "38 martyrs and more than 200 wounded by occupation gunfire... were transferred to the Red Cross field hospital in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, then to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis".
He added that the people had been waiting to reach an aid centre in Rafah "when the occupation forces opened fire" near the Al-Alam roundabout.
When asked by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking the reports.
Israeli restrictions on media in Gaza and the difficulties of access on the ground mean AFP is unable to independently verify the casualty tolls provided by the civil defence agency.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution points since the US- and Israel-backed organisation began operating in late May, according to the civil defence agency.
The rescue agency reported more than 20 killed on Saturday.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure over humanitarian conditions in Gaza which was described as "the hungriest place on Earth" by the United Nations at the end of May.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA has said that "the entire population" was at risk of famine.
The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with GHF over concerns it is designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights chief said Israel's warfare in Gaza is inflicting "horrifying, unconscionable suffering" on Palestinians and urged government leaders on Monday to exert pressure on Israel's government and the militant group Hamas to end it.
Volker Türk made the comments at the opening of the latest Human Rights Council session on Monday, in a broad address that also raised concerns about escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the fallout from U.S. tariffs, and China's human rights record - alongside wars and conflict in places like Sudan and Ukraine.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who has regularly spoken out about bloodshed in Gaza and called for the release of Israeli hostages held by armed Palestinian militants, used some of his most forceful words yet to highlight the Mideast violence.
"Israel's means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza," Türk told the 47-member-country body, which Israeli authorities have regularly accused of anti-Israel bias. The Trump administration has kept the United States, Israel's top ally, out of the council proceedings.
Israel's military campaign has killed over 55,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says that women and children make up most of the dead but it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
"The facts speak for themselves. Everyone in government needs to wake up to what is happening in Gaza," Türk said. "All those with influence must exert maximum pressure on Israel and Hamas, to put an end to this unbearable suffering."
The rights chief noted an increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine, nearly 3 ½ years after Russia's full-scale invasion. He also denounced executions without a fair trial and "wide-scale sexual violence, including against children" in Sudan.
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