Israeli gunfire kills 31 near Gaza aid distribution site

Gaza rescuers said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution site yesterday, shortly after Washington rejected Hamas's response to a ceasefire proposal as "totally unacceptable".

Israel recently introduced a revamped aid delivery mechanism in cooperation with a newly formed US-backed organisation, bypassing the longstanding UN-led system.

An Israeli attack near an aid distribution point run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) killed at least 31 people in Rafah, Palestinian news agency WAFA and Hamas-affiliated media said.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the reported attack, which WAFA said injured more than 115 people, reports Reuters.

Smoke and debris rise after an Israeli strike on a house west of Jabalia in northern Gaza yesterday. Photo: AFP

The casualties were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Bassal said.

Displaced Beit Lahia resident Sameh Hamuda, 33, told AFP he had walked from Gaza City and spent the night with relatives in a tent near Rafah before heading to the aid centre around 5:00 am to wait among a crowd of people.

"They began distributing aid, but suddenly quadcopter drones opened fire on the people, and tanks started shooting heavily. Several people were killed right in front of me," he said. "I ran and survived. Death follows you as long as you're in Gaza."

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 4,149 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the  overall toll to 54,381, mostly civilians.

Only limited amounts of aid have entered Gaza since Israel recently eased a more than two-month total blockade, with a spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency recently calling the territory "the hungriest place on earth".

The Palestinian group said Saturday evening that it had responded positively to a US-backed ceasefire proposal, but had emphasised the need for a permanent ceasefire -- long a sticking point for Israel.

Washington's main negotiator on Gaza, envoy Steve Witkoff, immediately criticised Hamas's reply as "totally unacceptable", an assessment echoed by Israel, which on Friday had warned Hamas to either accept the deal "or be annihilated".

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of several Arab countries, who had planned to visit the occupied West Bank this weekend, condemned on Saturday Israel's decision to block their trip.

The ministers condemned "Israel's decision to ban the delegation's visit to Ramallah (yesterday) to meet with the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmud Abbas", the Jordanian foreign ministry said.