What we know about killings near US-Israeli backed Gaza aid site
Over the past three days, there have been a series of deadly incidents on the route to an aid distribution site in Gaza run by a controversial group backed by the US and Israel.The three incidents took place on roads approaching one of the new sites in the extreme south-west of Gaza, which is under full Israeli military control. The facility is being operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).The first incident took place early on Sunday morning when 31 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. Another three people were killed by gunfire on Monday morning, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).Meanwhile, a further 27 people were killed by Israeli fire near the site on Tuesday morning, according to health officials.Israel has denounced what it called "false reports" that its troops fired on civilians at or near the sites. It said that some soldiers fired warning shots on Sunday 1km away, and that they also opened fire after identifying "several suspects" on Monday and Tuesday.Very few videos have emerged from Gaza that show the incidents themselves, but BBC Verify has examined footage has surfaced and attempted to map how they unfolded.
Where have the incidents taken place?
All three are reported to have taken place near an aid distribution centre in the south-west of Gaza, in the Tal al-Sultan area.The site, named Safe Distribution Site 1 (SDS 1) by the GHF, opened on the 26 May. It is one of four such facilities, three of which are based in southern Gaza.The facilities are part of a new aid system - widely condemned by humanitarian groups - aiming to bypass the UN, which Israel has accused of failing to prevent Hamas diverting aid to its fighters. The UN says that has not been a big problem and that the GHF's system is unworkable and unethical.However, only SDS 1 has been open and operational since Friday, according to official GHF posts online. It follows a chaotic opening week which saw the site overrun by desperate civilians, and projectiles being thrown towards Gazans at another facility at the GHF's northern site near Nuseirat on Thursday.A spokesperson for the foundation did not respond to messages asking why the other facilities have been closed for several days.The GHF has also encouraged civilians to follow a set route when approaching SDS 1, directing them along a coastal road called al-Rashid Street.
The instructions have been issued on the foundation's official Facebook page.Chris Newton, a senior analyst at the Brussels-based think tank Crisis Group, said the route was neither "safe nor effective".He added that directing civilians down a single route towards the site was "a very far cry from what was possible" under the UN-based system, which saw 400 distribution points scattered across the strip."This all looks designed to fail," he said of the new aid system.
How Sunday's incident unfolded
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, some 31 people were killed by gunfire on Sunday.The GHF posted on its official Facebook page early on Sunday, telling civilians that SDS 1 would be open from 05:00 local time.However, just an hour later it posted again saying that the site was closed. By this time many Gazans had gathered at the Al-Alam roundabout as they waited to be granted access to the site, Mohammed Ghareeb, a journalist based in Rafah, told the BBC.We have seen a limited amount of video that is claimed to relate to the shootings. In one video filmed on the route to the aid site, purportedly on Sunday, people lie on the ground and an explosion is heard which could be tank or artillery fire.An audio recording provided to the BBC by international staff at the UK-Med field hospital about 3km away from the site captured two apparent explosions and protracted gunfire for over five minutes.
Video footage posted at 06:08 showed dozens of people lying prone on sand, with automatic gunfire audible. BBC Verify could not definitively geolocate the footage.Another clip reviewed by BBC Verify, which claimed to be from the aftermath of the incident, showed a number of bodies lying on a beach on Gaza's coast. As the video progresses, several of the bodies were covered by white bags. One of those lying on the beach appeared to be a young woman.We cannot definitively geolocate the footage. However, lights seen in the distance suggest that the footage may have been filmed in an area about 1km from SDS 1.Images - provided to the BBC by doctors - of bullets recovered from those killed and wounded in the incidents showed that both 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds were used.But Benedict Manzin - an analyst with the risk consultancy Sibylline - said that the source of the rounds was unclear, noting that both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian armed groups "will have access to weapons that fire 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds".The IDF denied its troops fired at civilians "near or within" the site and said reports to this effect were false. But an Israeli military source later said warning shots were fired approximately 1km (0.6 miles) away from the site "to prevent suspects from approaching the troops".The GHF said in a statement: "There were no injuries, fatalities or incidents during our operations yesterday. Period. We have yet to see any evidence that there was an attack at or near our facility."
What happened in the later incidents?
On Monday, three people were killed while waiting for food near SDS 1, according to the ICRC.The Israeli military said "warning shots were fired toward several suspects who advanced toward" troops approximately 1km from the site.The Gaza health ministry said at least 27 people were then killed when Israeli forces opened fire near SDS 1 early on Tuesday.Very little footage has emerged purporting to show the moment of the shooting. But one clip posted online showed people running with gunfire audible. BBC Verify geolocated the footage to a road near SDS 1 and established it was newly published on Tuesday although we cannot say for certain it relates to Tuesday's incident.Killings near Gaza aid centre will deepen criticism of Israel's new distribution systemHow controversial US-Israeli backed Gaza aid plan turned to chaosGaza aid trucks rushed by desperate and hungry crowds, WFP saysMahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence agency, told the BBC that the incident again occurred a few hundred metres away from the Al-Alam roundabout. He said most of those killed or injured "were hit by gunfire from tanks, helicopters and quadcopter drones".Yasser Abu Lubda, a 50-year-old who has been displaced from Rafah, told the Associated Press (AP) news agency that the shooting began shortly before 04:00 local time. Rasha al-Nahal, another witness, told AP "there was gunfire from all directions".And the ICRC said in a statement that its field hospital in Rafah received "a mass casualty influx of 184 patients"."This includes nineteen cases who were declared dead upon arrival and eight more who died due to their wounds shortly after. The majority of cases suffered gunshot wounds."In a statement, the IDF said approximately 0.5km from the aid distribution site "several suspects" moved towards them. It said troops shot warning fire and when "suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects". It said it was looking into reports of casualties.Responding to Tuesday's incident, the GHF said: "While the aid distribution was conducted safely and without incident at our site today, we understand that IDF is investigating whether a number of civilians were injured after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone. This was an area well beyond our secure distribution site and operations area."BBC Verify will continue to investigate footage surrounding each of the three incidents.Additional reporting and verification by Matt Murphy, Mohamed Shalaby, Emma Pengelly, Kay Devlin, Benedict Garman, Joshua Cheetham, Alex Murray
What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
24 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Starmer welcomes King of Jordan as Gaza conflict continues
The Prime Minister hailed Abdullah's 'leadership, particularly in the region' and described his work on the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas as 'really, really important'. He said: 'We share the objective of getting back to a ceasefire just as quickly as we can, getting those hostages out and getting humanitarian aid in fast and at speed. 'And of course we both agree that the only long-term solution is that two-state solution.' King Abdullah said: 'I think this is a timely visit, there's a lot happening, and I think the coordination and the exchanges we will have today will be very helpful, to not only Jordan but countries in my region and Europe too.' The meeting in Downing Street comes after the UK backed a resolution at the UN Security Council calling for Israel to lift restrictions on aid entering Gaza, which was ultimately vetoed by the US. A Downing Street spokesperson later said the leaders 'agreed on the importance of the Palestinian Authority's reform agenda as part of the path to a two-state solution and lasting peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians'. They added: 'The leaders also discussed the wider bilateral relationship between the UK and Jordan, and the opportunity to deepen business and investment links between the two countries. 'Both looked forward to speaking again soon.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
This is not the answer to the threats Britain faces
The strategic defence review is premised on an increasing threat in Europe from Russian territorial expansion (Keir Starmer vows to make Britain 'battle-ready' as he unveils defence spending plans, 2 June). The lessons of Ukraine underline the reality of that threat. But there are other threats to the UK that require engagement across the world and that will not be solved by more drones and more bullets. Battles for territory and for political power beyond Ukraine result in death and despair for millions. Climate change, deepening inequality, poverty, famine and the displacement of populations generate humanitarian agendas that a country such as ours should respond to. They also constitute threats to us. We should not dispense with foreign aid to bolster a narrow perception of what we need to defend against. But what about cost? As Dan Sabbagh asks (Spending constrains Labour's defence review – but no harm in gradualism, 2 June), even if we accept the need to strengthen the readiness of our conventional forces, why do we need to spend more on nuclear weapons? The existing nuclear deterrent is dreadful in and of itself. Even if we are uncertain about the US's resolve, the UK and France could unleash mass destruction with what they have now. Surely we cannot see a scenario when we would need to, or choose to, deploy nuclear weapons on the battlefield? We should redirect the funding for more nuclear weapons in the defence review to overseas aid. It's not enough, but it does signal that we are not being diverted in our commitment to those in the most dire need across the world by the agenda of Vladimir Putin and his coterie in Moscow. Neil SmallLeeds Traditionally, we have seen our armed forces as being necessary to protect Britain's territorial integrity and safeguard our way of life and independence. As Dan Sabbagh points out, our territorial integrity is not under threat. As for our way of life and independence, there is no threat to this from Vladimir Putin: he does not appear to have any interest in the way we conduct our internal affairs, and even if he did, there is not much leverage he could apply. The same cannot be said for the American administration, which can exercise enormous leverage over our government and has distinct ideas about how it would like to influence our internal affairs, made painfully clear by JD Vance in his Munich speech earlier this year. Part of this leverage resides in the nature of the dependence of British armed forces on American equipment and support. Under the defence review, this degree of dependence will remain – we will be renewing our nuclear deterrent (missiles provided by the US) and probably buying more equipment from the US. Should we not be looking at decoupling ourselves from the US rather than exposing ourselves to pressure from a potentially malevolent government? Richard HendersonBristol One must presume that our 'battle-ready' prime minister did not read your exemplary interview with Neta Crawford last week (How the US became the biggest military emitter and stopped everyone finding out, 30 May), outlining her analysis of the true costs to the biosphere of an escalation in military spending. Or does not care. The economics aside, the political choices before Keir Starmer and all global leaders in this Anthropocene twilight of 'ecological collapse' ('Half the tree of life': ecologists' horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects, 3 June) are exquisitely stark. Either they devote their full energies to the climate emergency and so genuinely lead in attempting to heal an international system's self-destructive path to planetary annihilation. Or they reprise the last cold-war, nuclear-tipped, military confrontation of the 1980s and so, this time, seal it. Which is it to be? Dr Mark Levene New Radnor, Powys The prime minister proposes to increase conventional defence spending and bring back a form of national service to 'make Britain safer'. But documents in the House of Commons library state that we will be spending £118bn between 2023 and 2033 on our nuclear deterrent. If nuclear weapons aren't keeping us safe, what is the point of them? Why not spend this huge sum on social care, housing and other similar projects that would benefit the whole community. Most people would then be happy to let the prime minister have his soldiers, while life improves for everyone else. Peter Loschi Oldham, Greater Manchester Zoe Williams' description of sexual violence in war was a hard read, but a timely reminder, given the bullish talk flowing from the strategic defence review, that war is always an atrocity in one form or another (The story of war is one of kidnapping, slavery and rape. And what we talk about is strategy and territory, 2 June). The second world war ended with the atrocities of atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I support strengthening our defences to keep Britain safe from attack, but if nuclear weapons are part of that, let us remember that they are a deterrent, not an ConstantineGreat Gransden, Cambridgeshire
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Starmer welcomes King of Jordan as Gaza conflict continues
Sir Keir Starmer welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan to Downing Street on Thursday amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The Prime Minister hailed Abdullah's 'leadership, particularly in the region' and described his work on the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas as 'really, really important'. He said: 'We share the objective of getting back to a ceasefire just as quickly as we can, getting those hostages out and getting humanitarian aid in fast and at speed. 'And of course we both agree that the only long-term solution is that two-state solution.' King Abdullah said: 'I think this is a timely visit, there's a lot happening, and I think the coordination and the exchanges we will have today will be very helpful, to not only Jordan but countries in my region and Europe too.' The meeting in Downing Street comes after the UK backed a resolution at the UN Security Council calling for Israel to lift restrictions on aid entering Gaza, which was ultimately vetoed by the US.
