At least 31 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured amid chaotic scenes at an aid distribution site run by a US-backed private foundation in southern Gaza on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The health ministry blamed the Israeli military for the deaths. Some witnesses claimed that security personnel at the distribution hub had also opened fire.
The health ministry said that more than 200 casualties had reached hospitals, including dozens with serious injuries. It added that all those killed had been shot in the head or chest.
In a brief response to a CNN inquiry, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was “unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site. The matter is still under review.” It added that “there were no casualties among our forces.”
“Crowds of citizens headed to receive food aid” from the site in the Rafah area when Israeli forces opened fire, said a paramedic from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the only medical professionals present in the area.
But the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which runs the site, told CNN: “There was no gunfire in the (distribution) center and also not in the surrounding area.”
The GHF is a private foundation backed by Israel and the US. It was set up amid Israeli accusations that Hamas is stealing aid in Gaza and profiting from sales, though Israel hasn’t presented any evidence publicly. Humanitarian organizations say there is no evidence of this.
United Nations aid agencies have criticized the GHF’s aid mechanism, saying it violates humanitarian principles and raises the risks for Palestinians.
UN aid groups, such as UNRWA, typically check identification and rely on a database of registered families when distributing aid.
But the GHF is not screening Palestinians at aid distribution sites, despite Israeli officials saying that additional security measures were a core reason for the creation of the new program.
Criticism has been mounting against both Israel and the GHF after chaos broke out last week when tens of thousands of starving Palestinians arrived at two new food distribution sites.
According to Palestinian Ministry of Health figures from before Sunday’s incident, 11 people have been killed and dozens injured since the aid distribution sites have opened. The GHF said on Thursday that no one had been killed or injured since the distribution of aid began last week.
In a statement issued earlier Sunday, before CNN reached out about the incident in Rafah, the GHF said it would “continue scaling, with plans to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, in the weeks ahead.”
The statement added that it had provided more than 4.7 million meals in six days, including delivering 16 truckloads of food on Sunday morning, providing over 887,000 meals.
However, a mixed picture appears on the ground, with claims of the aid distributed believed to be inaccurate.
Aid was distributed “without incident,” read the GHF statement, with the group adding it was “aware of rumors being actively fomented by Hamas suggesting deaths and injuries today.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Eugenia Yosef contributed to this report.
