At least 31 people have reportedly been killed near an aid distribution centre in southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry, with conflicting accounts emerging over whether the deaths were caused by Israeli gunfire or an airstrike.
The Red Cross field hospital in Rafah earlier confirmed receiving 21 bodies and said 175 people had been injured. The facility is close to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site, a controversial new aid hub backed by Israel and the US.
Witnesses claimed Israeli forces opened fire on civilians approaching the distribution site at a roundabout near the hub. Ibrahim Abu Saoud, 40, said: “There were many martyrs, including women. We were about 300 metres away from the military.”
He said he saw a young man shot dead and others wounded. “We weren’t able to help him,” he added.
Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said his cousin and another woman were killed in the attack. “They opened heavy fire directly toward us,” he said, describing how his cousin was shot in the chest and died at the scene.
Palestinian media linked to Hamas have instead attributed the deaths to an Israeli airstrike, though it remains unclear whether the reports refer to separate incidents or differing interpretations of the same event.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was “currently unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the humanitarian aid distribution site” and added that “the matter is still under review”.
Speaking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel cast doubt on the reports, saying: “The IDF said it’s actually reviewing this issue right now... They didn’t have any information to give me before [this interview].
“But I have to say that during the last week, we have heard so much propaganda coming from Hamas about the humanitarian distribution point that I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s another case like that.”
She added: “We’ve just heard about this case from your media, that was literally two minutes before I came online to your show.”
The incident has renewed criticism of the GHF, which operates under a system designed by Israel and the US to prevent Hamas from intercepting humanitarian supplies. The UN and aid agencies have refused to cooperate with the system, saying it violates humanitarian principles and forces civilians to travel through unsafe areas to access aid.
Before Sunday’s events, at least six people had already been killed and more than 50 wounded at or near GHF sites, according to local officials.
