AT least 20 people have been killed at an aid distribution site in Gaza after a “chaotic and dangerous” crowd surge.
Nineteen were trampled to death with one person stabbed in the “tragic accident,” the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said.
ReutersPeople mourn Palestinians who were killed in an incident on Wednesday at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis[/caption]
ReutersPalestinians collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in June[/caption]
ReutersPeople mourn Palestinians who were killed in an incident on Wednesday while seeking aid in Khan Younis[/caption]
The US and Israel-backed GHF said it believed the harrowing surge was “driven by agitators in the crowd” who were affiliated to Hamas.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it had received 10 bodies who had died due to “suffocation” after an aid site was shut by the GHF’s US private security contractors.
The GHF added: “We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas – deliberately fomented the unrest”.
But a medical source at Nasser Hospital claimed it had received “nine martyrs, including several children” after “Israeli forces” opened fire on those seeking aid.
The source added the victims were “heading to the aid distribution centre in northwest Rafah to receive food aid” but the main gate to the centre had been closed.
The GHF started its operations on May 26 after Israel had halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking warnings of imminent famine.
On Tuesday, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 “in the vicinity of GHF sites”, since the end of May.
Last week, UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said that “most of the injuries are gunshot injuries”.
The GHF has denied deadly shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.
The Israeli army has accused Hamas of being responsible for firing at civilians.
The GHF said on Wednesday: “For the first time since operations began, GHF personnel identified multiple firearms in the crowd, one of which was confiscated.
“An American worker was also threatened with a firearm by a member of the crowd during the incident.”
It added that it was part of a “deeply troubling pattern”, including “false messages” about aid site openings.
The Israeli military last week said it recognised incidents had occurred where civilians had been harmed and that it was working to minimise “possible friction between the population and the [Israeli] forces as much as possible”.
Gaza’s 2.3 million population had been on the verge of famine after Israel imposed the aid blockade in early March.
The GHF uses private security contractors to distribute aid from sites in Gaza.
The UN among other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, claiming that Israel is weaponising food and that it will lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They added that it undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need.
ReutersPeople mourn Palestinians who were killed in an incident on Wednesday[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
