Gaza: UN chief demands probe as more killed at aid site – DW – 06/03/2025
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it is "unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food." Witnesses have reported a second attack on civilians waiting for aid.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for an independent investigation into the deaths of dozens of Palestinians near an aid distribution site in Gaza, prompting a fierce response from Israel.
Guterres said in a statement that he was "appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza."
"It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," the UN Secretary-General's statement said.
"I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable," Guterres said.
Witnesses and international relief workers said on Sunday that Israeli forces fired on Palestinians waiting to receive aid close to a distribution site in Gaza. Journalists also reported receiving an off the record statement from the Israeli military saying that they had fired on "suspects" who posed a threat.
At least 21 were killed and scores more injured, according to a Red Cross field hospital and numerous witnesses.
Second aid shooting reported
Israel's foreign ministry condemned Guterres' statement as a "disgrace," and criticized him for ignoring the role of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote in a post on X that Guterres' statement did not mention "the fact that Hamas is the one shooting civilians and trying to prevent them from collecting aid packages."
Marmorstein's claims have not been confirmed by any other source.
On Tuesday, the Gaza Health Ministry said that Israeli forces had once again fired on civilians, this time trying to collect aid in the city of Rafah, killing at least 24 people. In this instance, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed immediately that they had fired on individuals who "posed a threat."
Recalling the shooting
Witness Mohammed Abu Deqqa told French news agency AFP that initially the people gathered on Sunday thought warning shots were being fired by the Israeli army till the shooting intensified.
"I began to see people lying on the ground, covered in blood. That was around 5:30 am," he said. "People started running, but many couldn't escape. The bullets were chasing people even as they tried to flee."
According to AFP, its photos taken around 5:40am showed civilians using donkey carts to transport bodies shortly after sunrise.
Dozens killed in attack on Gaza aid distribution point
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Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
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