Gaza's civil defence agency says Israeli forces opened fire with tanks and drones on thousands of Palestinians waiting to be granted access to the aid hub
Israel denied shooting Palestinians in a similar incident on Sunday which the Hamas-run health ministry said killed 31 people and injured nearly 200
Another three Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded by Israeli attacks near a humanitarian aid distribution site in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Monday, health officials and medics informed Reuters, as the humanitarian crisis in the enclave continues to escalate.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defence agency, the killings occurred in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood near a distribution centre operated by US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The Red Cross confirmed that its field hospital in Rafah received 50 wounded individuals, two of whom were declared dead on arrival.
A third fatality was reported at Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis.
Medical staff said most injuries were caused by gunshots or shrapnel and included women and children. Witnesses said large crowds had gathered in the area early Monday to receive aid when they came under fire.
The Israeli military published drone footage it claims shows armed men firing at civilians heading to aid sites, though the BBC said it could not verify the footage’s location or date.
Meanwhile, a journalist in Rafah told the BBC that Israeli tanks opened fire on a crowd near the al-Alam roundabout, close to the GHF site.
Monday’s killings follow a deadly incident a day earlier in the same area, where at least 31 people were reported killed and more than 170 injured.
Witnesses told the BBC that civilians were fired upon while attempting to collect food.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed a “mass casualty influx” of 179 people at its Rafah field hospital on Sunday, 21 of whom were dead on arrival.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported treating severely injured patients and said some had described being fired upon from multiple directions while trying to access aid.
However, the Israeli military do admit that their forces were operating overnight in Rafah however they claim it was under full Israeli control and that they fired warning shots to deter individuals approaching them.
The IDF said the incident occurred about 1 km from the aid distribution site, and that troops had acted to “prevent several suspects from approaching.” It claims that it is aware of the casualty reports and is investigating.
GHF, which operates with US support and Israeli endorsement, denied any incident occurred at or near its center, stating “there were no injuries, fatalities or incidents during our operations.”
The group continue to claims that reports of casualties are “outright fabrications” and blamed misinformation spread by Hamas.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed outrage over the repeated loss of civilian life during humanitarian operations. “I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza,” Guterres said in a statement on Monday.
He called for “an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”
The United Nations and international aid organizations have raised alarm about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the population of over two million is facing acute food shortages and famine-like conditions following months of restricted access to aid.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which opened its first aid distribution sites last week, is supported by the US and operates with Israeli coordination.
However, its operations have come under criticism from the UN and other humanitarian groups for bypassing traditional aid channels and working outside of internationally accepted humanitarian principles.
The Palestinian NGOs Network has called for a boycott of what it labeled the "US-Israeli aid mechanism" in response to the deadly incidents at and around the GHF distribution point.
Relatives of one of the victims, 37-year-old Hussam Wafi, gathered at Nasser Hospital on Monday to mourn before his burial. “They were going peacefully. They went to get food and water for their children — a can of hummus or fava beans — and they got shot,” Wafi's neighbor, Abu Youssef, told Reuters.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to Anadolu Agency.
On Monday alone, the ministry reported 51 killed and 500 injured across the enclave, including 16 people from a single airstrike on a home in Jabalia
Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
