At least 31 people were killed and more than 150 injured on Sunday when civilians travelling to an aid distribution center in Gaza were fired upon, according to media reports citing local health authorities and witnesses.
The witnesses claimed Israeli forces fired on crowds around a kilometer from an aid site run by an Israeli-backed foundation, the Associated Press reported. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the aid agency, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), denied those claims.
The incident took place early Sunday morning after Israeli tanks reportedly opened fire on thousands of people around the aid hub in the Gaze Strip’s southern region of Rafah.
In a post on X Sunday evening, the IDF called the allegations against the Israeli military “false reports” and said that an initial inquiry indicated that “the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within” the aid station.
The GHF denied the incident had taken place, branding the reports of casualties “untrue and fabricated.”
The incident showcases persisting difficulties around delivering aid to Gaza even after Israel agreed to relax an almost three-month blockade against the enclave last month.
The GHF, which is backed by the U.S. as well as Israel, has led humanitarian aid efforts since then, after Tel Aviv accused Hamas of stealing aid — a claim disputed by both the militant group and traditional aid organizations. The GHF has also drawn criticism from U.N. officials who accuse it of contributing to the forced relocation of Palestinians in Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, said that aid distribution in Gaza had “become a death trap” and a “humiliating system” designed to force “thousands of hungry [and] desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized.”
Victoria Rose, a British surgeon working at the emergency department of the nearby Nasser hospital, said patients had been brought in on Sunday with gunshot wounds, in a video released by the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry. She described the hospital as “absolute carnage.”
Australian doctor Ahmed Abu Sweid, who also works at the hospital, said the facility was overwhelmed, with medical supplies fast running out.
The incident also comes as efforts to secure a ceasefire continue to falter. On Friday, the U.S. proposed a 60-day ceasefire and prisoner exchange in its latest attempt to stop the fighting across the war-torn enclave.
Israel has approved the suggested deal, according to the White House. But Hamas on Saturday repeated its demands for a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a permanent truce, which are not currently part of the U.S. proposal.
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