More than twenty Palestinians were killed on Sunday while en route to a food distribution point of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The crowd was allegedly fired upon by the Israeli army.
A Red Cross hospital in the southern city of Rafah tells news agency AP that there were 21 deaths and 175 injuries in the shelling on Sunday morning. Witnesses say Israeli forces shot at a crowd of about 1 kilometer long.
BBC News reports, based on local doctors and residents, that there have been 26 deaths. A local Palestinian journalist tells the British broadcaster that thousands of Palestinians had gathered at a food distribution point west of Rafah. According to the journalist, Israeli tanks drove towards the crowd and opened fire.
The Israeli army reports via Telegram that it is not aware of the shelling around distribution points and has launched an investigation. GHF says in a statement that it has provided assistance “without incidents.” The organization denies that there was any shooting.
According to AP, victims are being taken to a hospital in Khan Younis. That is one of the few hospitals in the Gaza Strip that are still operational. The area is completely under Israeli control and is therefore difficult for emergency services to reach.
GHF highly controversial due to chaos at distribution points
GHF is a controversial aid initiative set up by the Israelis and Americans to distribute aid to Palestinians centrally. Other aid organizations, including UNICEF, the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, are very critical of the initiative.
There are only a few GHF food distribution points in a remote corner of Gaza. This makes it more difficult for vulnerable people to get help. In addition, the locations are often poorly supplied, resulting in too little food and chaos. It is not the first time that Israel has targeted a food distribution point.
Aid organizations rang the alarm this week about the famine in Gaza. According to the UN, it is currently “the hungriest place” on earth. Almost everyone is suffering from serious food shortages.