Twenty Palestinians were killed Wednesday outside an aid distribution center in southern Gaza, according to the Israeli-backed humanitarian group leading the humanitarian effort.
A spokesperson for the Gaza Humanitarian Fund told reporters “armed Hamas operatives who infiltrated a civilian crowd” near the Khan Younis aid site and “deliberately incited chaos.”
19 individuals were fatally trampled in the chaos, while another individual was fatally stabbed.
“Make no mistake, this tragic event was no accident,” Chapin Fay, the spokesman, said. “This was a calculated provocation, part of a pattern of targeted efforts by Hamas and its allies to dismantle our life-saving operations. These efforts have intensified in recent weeks, coinciding with active ceasefire negotiations.”
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is operated by Hamas, claimed that tear gas was fired into the crowd, prompting the chaos, and said 21 people were killed. The discrepancy in the death toll is unexplained at this point.
Fay denied that GHF personnel shot tear gas into the crowd but said there was “limited” use of pepper spray.
He said personnel “identified a large number of people within the crowd carrying pistols” for the first time. One GHF medic “attempted to tackle” a Hamas affiliate who had a gun when the medic was stabbed by another militant “with an ice pick-like weapon,” likely causing broken ribs and puncture wounds.
The Israeli military warned the GHF before the attack that Hamas “could possibly attempt an attack during aid distribution” and that militants were likely “embedded within crowds,” Fay said, adding that this is the latest incident in a string of deadly Hamas attacks as they attempt to sabotage their efforts.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund also noted a developing pattern of false messages about aid openings circulating widely on Telegram and other platforms, leading to confusion.
Many Palestinians have to walk for miles to reach the aid distribution sites.
A United Nations official said this week that it had recorded 875 people who have been killed trying to get food “in recent weeks,” but did not specify an exact time frame.
Among those killed, 674 died “in the vicinity of GHF sites,” while the remaining 201 victims died while looking for aid “on the routes of aid convoys or near aid convoys,” Thameen al Kheetan, a spokesman for the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner, said Tuesday.
The GHF began leading the humanitarian efforts in Gaza this spring as Israel’s refusal to allow aid into the besieged strip garnered significant international criticism. The Israelis said they decided to block humanitarian aid into Gaza as a means to further squeeze Hamas into surrendering.
There have been several instances of violence at the distribution sites. The GHF said earlier this week it has distributed more than 76 million meals to Palestinians since it began the effort in May.
Israel declared war on Hamas after the terrorist group carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which the group killed roughly 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others. Hamas still holds about 50 of those hostages, about 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. They have been held hostage for 21 months.
ISRAEL PUMMELS DAMASCUS AS SECTARIAN FIGHTING ESCALATES IN COUNTRY’S SOUTH
Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas has devastated the entire Gaza Strip and the terrorist group that previously governed the enclave. U.S. officials have described it as “uninhabitable,” and there have been limited public details about a reconstruction plan.
More than 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, a tally that includes civilians and combatants. Israeli officials have acknowledged that about half of the deaths were civilians.
