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A crush at an aid center in southern Gaza resulted in at least 20 deaths on Wednesday. The site’s operator attributed the incident to “Hamas operatives” within the crowd, while the civil defense agency of the Palestinian territory blamed it on Israeli gunfire.
For the first time, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supported by the United States and Israel, recognized fatalities at one of its distribution centers, following weeks of chaotic scenes and ongoing reports of Palestinians being killed nearby while waiting for aid.
AFP footage depicted lifeless bodies being taken to a nearby hospital in Khan Younis, some placed on the floor and others on beds already stained with blood.
Abdullah Alian, a witness, said that mayhem unfolded as the crowd of aid-seekers was hit with stun grenades and pepper spray.
“When they saw people starting to die on the ground and people on top of each other suffocating, they opened the gate and people started climbing on top of each other,” Alian said.
It was not clear whether he was referring to US contractors securing GHF sites, Israeli forces or another party.
Palestinian health officials told Reuters that 21 people had died of suffocation at the site.
One medic said lots of people had been crammed into a small space and had been crushed.
The latest deaths came as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were ongoing, aiming to seal a deal for a 60-day ceasefire, the release of hostages held in Gaza and the unfettered flow of much-needed aid into the territory.
Hamas has accused Israel of intending to maintain long-term military control over Gaza—a significant issue in the ongoing talks, currently in their second week in Qatar.
Crowd crush
The GHF said that 19 of those killed on Wednesday “were trampled and one was stabbed amid a chaotic and dangerous surge”.
Spokesperson Chapin Fay later stated during a briefing that the tragic event was “instigated by armed Hamas operatives” and denied any use of tear gas or gunfire toward the crowd.
“Limited use of pepper spray was deployed only to protect against additional loss of life,” Fay said, adding that “warning shots were fired into the air at one point when GHF personnel identified that a child was being trampled”.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 20 people were killed in the incident, blaming it on fire from Israeli troops.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that thousands had gathered at the site when “Israeli forces opened fire and used (tear) gas, causing panic and a stampede after aid centre guards closed the main gates in front of the hungry crowd”.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.
The GHF, an officially private effort, began operations in late May as Israel eased a two-month aid blockade that had sparked warnings of famine.
On Tuesday, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food since late May, including 674 “in the vicinity of GHF sites”.
Last week, UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters that “most of the injuries are gunshot injuries”.
