Dozens shot dead and injured near Gaza aid hub, health ministry and doctors say
By Abeer Salman, Mohammad al Sawalhi, Eyad Kourdi and Tim Lister, CNN
(CNN) — At least 31 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured near an aid distribution site run by a US-backed private foundation in southern Gaza on Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that Israeli forces “did not fire at civilians while they were near or within” the aid distribution site and it was not aware of injuries from IDF fire “within the humanitarian aid distribution site.” The military did not rule out shooting nearby.
Exactly how the carnage unfolded remains unclear. The health ministry blamed the Israeli military for the deaths. Some civilians who had gone to the site claimed that local security personnel had opened fire, but the foundation said there had been no gunfire at the site.
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.
The number of killed and injured quickly overwhelmed the field hospital in Rafah, the Red Cross said, and some patients had to be sent to other facilities for treatment. “This is the highest number of weapon-wounded in a single incident since the establishment of the field hospital over a year ago,” the Red Cross said in a statement.
Crowds of people had converged on the site in the Rafah area in an effort to obtain aid when Israeli forces opened fire, a paramedic from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PCRS), the only medical professionals present in the area at the time, told CNN.
One medical official told CNN that it was impossible to identify who was shooting “but those areas of the distribution are all under Israeli army responsibility in regards to security. Whether they shoot or others who are working for them, it is still their responsibility.” CNN cannot independently verify who was responsible for the shooting. Israel prevents international media from entering Gaza.
The IDF said allegations that Israeli soldiers fired on Gazans near or within the aid distribution site were “false reports.”
An Israeli military source said IDF forces did fire warning shots towards suspects approaching their position approximately a kilometer (1,100 yards) away from the aid distribution site in an incident that happened several hours before the site opened. The source said it was not connected to claims that the IDF fired on Palestinians in the area of the distribution site.
In a brief response to a CNN inquiry, the Israeli military said it was “unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the humanitarian aid distribution site.” It later said that “the entire incident is still under investigation” and added “there were no casualties among our forces.”
In a post on X, Philippe Lazzarini – executive director of UNRWA, the main United Nations agency in the Palestinian territories – said “aid distribution has become a death trap. Mass casualties including scores of injured & killed among starving civilians due to gunshots this morning. This is according to reports from international medics on ground.”
Dr. Ahmed Abu Sweid, an Australian working at the Nasser medical complex, said the victims brought in from the area of the aid hub had gunshot and shrapnel wounds. Some had gunshot wounds to the head and thorax, he said.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which runs the site, insisted: “There was no gunfire in the (distribution) center and also not in the surrounding area.”
“All aid was distributed today without incident. We have heard that these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated.”
Later Sunday, the foundation released surveillance video showing hundreds of people running towards the distribution point at dawn. One 4-minute video, which was without sound, showed no violence or injuries but there were what appeared to be two bursts of tracer fire nearby. Other GHF videos released later showed hundreds of people carrying away boxes of food.
Witnesses told CNN of chaotic scenes as people were trampled amid what they said was random gunfire. One man said: “It’s not a humanitarian point — it’s a death trap.”
CNN video showed thousands of people streaming away from the site. Some were carrying plastic bags and empty cardboard boxes, but none appeared to have received any aid.
One man, Ghassan Eid Al-Aghan, told CNN: “We couldn’t even reach the place where the aid was being handed out.”
“The situation there is terrifying. Heavy gunfire. I won’t risk my life to go. Things can’t go on like this,” he added.
Mohammad Qdeih said people had been told the gates would open at 5:30 a.m. local time, but then there was intense gunfire.
“The amount of aid the Americans bring is tiny,” Qdieh said. “Whoever manages to push forward might get something. Those who can’t get nothing.”
“They’re sniping everyone — women, children, innocent civilians who have nothing to do with anything,” Qdieh said.
Basel Abu Alwan said he had arrived at the site on Saturday night. Instructions had been given via a drone telling people to come back at 6 a.m., he said. “No distribution happens. People move forward and fall. Gunfire is sprayed randomly at everyone,” he said.
“Whoever can grab something does. If not, they may get trampled,” he added.
Many of the civilians told CNN that they had left wherever they were staying around midnight to make the long trek to the distribution site – but most left empty-handed.
Abdul Majid Al-Zayti said that he had walked for seven hours to reach the site. “Many people didn’t get anything. The large crowds that came from Gaza City and other areas got nothing,” he said.
“I couldn’t get any aid. I’m an old man. I have hungry children. No-one in this world wants to help them.”
One man who declined to give his name said that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation “place four or five wooden boards with aid on them and open the gates for people to storm and fight over it.”
The GHF 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.
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.
United Nations aid agencies have criticized the GHF’s aid mechanism, saying it violates humanitarian principles and raises the risks for Palestinians.
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, 11 people had been killed and dozens injured since the aid distribution sites opened last week – before Sunday’s casualties.
In a statement issued Sunday, 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.
The interim executive director of GHF, John Acree, acknowledged Sunday that “the flow of humanitarian relief into Gaza remains far below what’s needed. The demand is overwhelming — and growing by the day.”
He added that GHF was “currently the only organization able to deliver food in a secure manner, but we are still operating under immense constraints and at the mercy of factors beyond our control.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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CNN’s Eugenia Yosef, Manveena Suri and Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.
