Children wait for their turn to get some food from a hospice set up in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza (Al-Jazeera)

Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that more than 100 people were killed and wounded after an Israeli helicopter opened fire on people while they were waiting for humanitarian aid to arrive near the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza, while the first aid ship arrived - today, Friday - near the shores of Gaza City.

Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul said that the occupation forces continued to bomb civilians trying to retrieve the bodies of the martyrs and wounded at the Kuwait roundabout, adding that the bombing caused great material damage.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that a number of bodies were still lying on the ground.

A video clip taken by a journalist showed the bodies of a number of martyrs at the site of the massacre, including children.

The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) quoted local sources as saying that dozens of Palestinians were martyred and injured as a result of occupation artillery shelling and shooting from its warplanes and drones at the Palestinians while they were waiting for aid.

The Director General of the Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Al-Thawabta, said that the Israeli occupation forces opened heavy fire from aircraft and tanks on civilians who came to receive aid at the Kuwait Roundabout, which led to the deaths of more than 100 martyrs and wounded, describing the incident as a clear war crime.

Al-Thawabta added to Al-Jazeera that the occupation is targeting, for the 20th day in a row, those waiting for aid, while the world is completely unable to stop the Israeli occupation from committing these crimes.

Following this massacre, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) held the administration of US President Joe Biden responsible for the continued occupation massacres committed with weapons and open American support.

She indicated - in a statement - that the failure of the international community to take action against the occupation was a green light to commit more crimes and a war of extermination against the defenseless people in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas called on the United Nations and the Arab League to intervene urgently to stop the genocide and take measures to bring in aid.

On the other hand, the Israeli occupation army denied reports that the army targeted dozens of Gaza residents - Thursday evening - at a humanitarian aid distribution point.

Occupation army spokesman Avichai Adraee said - in a post on the X platform - that the Israeli army is examining the details of the incident, he said.

First ship

In a related context, the aid ship “Open Arms” arrived - today, Friday - near the shores of Gaza City, 3 days after it sailed from Cyprus, and it is the first in an attempt to open a sea corridor to deliver aid to the besieged Gaza Strip.

Eyewitnesses reported that the ship "Open Arms" arrived only hundreds of meters from the shore of Gaza City, opposite the new pier being constructed on the coast of the Al-Baidar area, southwest of the city.

According to witnesses, the work of paving the pier on which the ship is supposed to dock to unload aid has not yet been completed.

There is no information available at the moment about the mechanism for unloading the ship’s cargo and distributing it to the Palestinians in the northern areas of the Gaza Strip.

Last Tuesday, the international charity World Central Kitchen announced the launch of the first relief ship for Gaza from the port of Larnaca in Cyprus, in an attempt to open a sea corridor to deliver aid to the sector, which has been suffering under war and a severe siege for the sixth month.

The organization stated, in a post on the X platform, that the ship carries about 200 tons of food, such as rice, flour, legumes, canned vegetables, and proteins.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies