CNN
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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 people had converged on the site in the Rafah area in an effort to obtain aid when Israeli forces opened fire, according to a paramedic from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PCRS), the only medical professionals present in the area at the time.
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.”
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.”
In a statement earlier Sunday, GHF said: “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.”
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 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 given 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.”
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 is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Eugenia Yosef, Manveena Suri and Sophie Tanno contributed to this report.
