Devastating stampede at Gaza aid hub ‘sees 19 Palestinians trampled to death'
A devastating stampede at an aid hub in war-torn Gaza is said to have left 19 Palestinians trampled to death.
The tragedy came after the UN earlier recorded almost 900 'desperate and hungry Gazans' have been killed in the stricken enclave seeking food in recent weeks. As many as 19 people were trampled on Wednesday with another fatally stabbed in violence at the site, according to the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
It comes as Israeli strikes killed 41 others, including 11 kids, according to hospital officials. GHF, whose operations have stoked controversy with over 170 charities and other NGOs calling for it to be shut, accused militant group Hamas of fomenting panic and spreading misinformation leading to the violence.
It marks the first time the Israeli-backed US group has acknowledged deadly violence at its operations. GHF workers used tear gas against the crowd, inciting a panic, Gaza's Health Ministry and witnesses claimed. The incident occurred at a distribution hub in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The crowd panicked after receiving messages that no aid would be distributed or would only be given out later, some witnesses said. And others said people became trapped while trying to move through a turnstile system, which creates a bottleneck.
A resident of the nearby city of Rafah said people were gasping for air, possibly from tear gas. The injuries were "not from gunfire, but from people clustering and pushing against each other," Omar Al-Najjar said as he carried, with three other men, an injured stranger to a hospital. He said the chaos at the sites is forcing Palestinians to "march towards death."
"They used stun grenades and pepper spray against us," Abdullah Aleyat, who was at the GHF site on Wednesday morning, said. "When they saw people killing each other, they opened the gate and people stepped over each other and suffocated," Aleyat explained, standing in a hospital room with some of the injured.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed 22 people in Gaza City, including 11 children and three women, and 19 others in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said it had struck over 120 targets in the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip, including Hamas military infrastructure of tunnels and weapons storage facilities.
On Tuesday, the UN disclosed figures showing its recorded death toll for Palestinians seeking food since May. 'As of 13 July, we have recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food; 674 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites,' Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said. And the other 201 were killed seeking food 'on the routes of aid convoys or near aid convoys' run by the UN or its partners still operating in Gaza, the spokesperson explained.
Claims emerged last month that Israeli troops deliberately fired at Palestinians near aid sites in Gaza. It was alleged troops were ordered to shoot at crowds despite posing no threat. But Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister, Israel Katz, rejected respected Israeli newspaper Haaretz's report.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced the opening of a fourth corridor – bisecting the city of Khan Younis – where troops have seized land in what they said is a pressure tactic against Hamas. Last week, US President Donald Trump and Netanyahu held two days of talks ending with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.
The war was sparked by Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel in 2023, which killed about 1,200 people – with 251 hostages taken. Israel's offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
At least 36 killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid in Gaza, hospital says
GAZA, July 19 (Reuters) - At least 36 people were killed by Israeli fire while they were on their way to an aid distribution site in Gaza at dawn on Saturday, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots at suspects who approached its troops after they did not heed calls to stop, about a kilometre away from an aid distribution site that was not active at the time. Gaza resident Mohammed al-Khalidi said he was in the group approaching the site and heard no warnings before the firing began. "We thought they came out to organise us so we can get aid, suddenly (I) saw the jeeps coming from one side, and the tanks from the other and started shooting at us," he said. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed group which runs the aid site, said there were no incidents or fatalities there on Saturday and that it has repeatedly warned people not to travel to its distribution points in the dark. "The reported IDF (Israel Defence Forces) activity resulting in fatalities occurred hours before our sites opened and our understanding is most of the casualties occurred several kilometres away from the nearest GHF site," it said. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident. GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a U.N.-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the accusation. The U.N. has called the GHF's model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which GHF denies. On Tuesday, the U.N. rights office in Geneva said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza - the majority of them close to GHF distribution points. Most of those deaths were caused by gunfire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged that civilians were harmed, saying that Israeli forces had been issued new instructions with "lessons learned". At least 50 more people were killed in other Israeli attacks across Gaza on Saturday, health officials said, including one strike that killed the head of the Hamas-run police force in Nuseirat in central Gaza and 11 of his family members. The Israeli military said that it had struck militants' weapon depots and sniping posts in a few locations in the enclave. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed around 58,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis, leaving much of the territory in ruins. Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a U.S.-proposed 60-day ceasefire and a hostage deal mediated by Egypt and Qatar, though there has been no sign of any imminent breakthrough. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan was kidnapped from his kibbutz home and is held by Hamas, urged Israel's leaders to make a deal with the militant group. "An entire people wants to bring all 50 hostages home and end the war," Zangauker said in a statement outside Israel's defence headquarters in Tel Aviv. "My Matan is alone in the tunnels," she said, "He has no more time."
ITV News
7 hours ago
- ITV News
Gaza: More than 30 people killed after Israeli troops 'open fire' on Palestinians waiting for aid
At least 32 people have been killed after Israeli troops opened fire towards a crowd of Palestinians waiting for aid at a distribution hub on Saturday, according to witnesses and hospital officials. The deaths occurred in two incidents near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US and Israel-backed group. Separately, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, health officials said. The Israeli military (IDF) said it had struck some 90 targets throughout Gaza over the past day and that it had killed militants and targeted "terror infrastructure" in northern Gaza and Gaza City. The IDF had no immediate comment on the violence near the aid sites, neither did the GHF. Most of Saturday's deaths occurred in the Teina area, around three kilometres (2 miles) away from a GHF aid distribution centre east of the city of Khan Younis. Mahmoud Mokeimar, an eyewitness, said he was walking with masses of people, mostly young men, toward the food hub when troops fired warning shots as the crowds advanced, before opening fire toward the marching people, "It was a massacre," he said. He said he managed to flee but saw at least three motionless bodies lying on the ground, and many other wounded fleeing. Akram Aker, another witness, said troops fired machine guns mounted on tanks and drones. He said the shooting happened between 5 and 6am. "They encircled us and started firing directly at us," he said. He said he saw many casualties lying on the ground. Sanaa al-Jaberi, a 55-year-old woman, said she saw many dead and wounded as she fled the area: "We shouted: 'food, food,' but they didn't talk to us. They just opened fire." The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 25 bodies, along with dozens wounded. Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of metres north of another GHF hub in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, the hospital said. The toll was also confirmed by the health ministry. Dr. Mohamed Saker, the head of Nasser's nursing department, said it received 70 wounded people. He told The Associated Press that most of the casualties were shot in their heads and chests, and that some were placed in the already overwhelmed intensive care unit. "The situation is difficult and tragic," he said, adding that the facility lacks badly needed medical supplies to treat the daily flow of casualties. What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation? The GHF launched operations in late May with backing from the US and Israel. The two governments are seeking to replace the traditional UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, claiming that Hamas militants siphon off supplies. The UN denies the allegation. While the GHF says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians, local health officials and witnesses say that hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli army fire as they try to reach the distribution hubs. The army, which is not at the sites but secures them from a distance, says it only fires warning shots if crowds get too close to its forces. The GHF, which employs private armed guards, says there have been no deadly shootings at its sites, though this week, 20 people were killed at one of its locations, most of them in a stampeded. The group accused Hamas agitators of causing a panic, but gave no evidence to back the claim.
Leader Live
8 hours ago
- Leader Live
32 Palestinians killed ‘while trying to reach food distribution sites in Gaza'
The two incidents occurred near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The organisation launched operations in late May with backing from the US and Israel. The two governments are seeking to replace the traditional UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, saying that Hamas militants siphon off supplies. The UN denies the allegation. While the GHF says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians, local health officials and witnesses say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli army fire as they try to reach the distribution hubs. The army, which is not at the sites but secures them from a distance, says it only fires warning shots if crowds get too close to its forces. The GHF, which employs private armed guards, says there have been no deadly shootings at its sites, though 20 people were killed at one of its locations this week, most of them in a stampede. The group accused Hamas agitators of causing a panic, but gave no evidence to back the claim. The army and the GHF did not immediately comment on Saturday's violence. Most of the deaths occurred as Palestinians massed in the Teina area, around two miles from a GHF aid distribution centre east of the city of Khan Younis. Mahmoud Mokeimar said he was walking with masses of people — mostly young men — towards the food hub when troops fired warning shots as the crowd advanced, before opening fire towards the marching people. 'It was a massacre… the occupation opened fire at us indiscriminately,' he said, adding that he managed to flee but saw at least three motionless bodies on the ground, and many other wounded. Akram Aker said troops fired machine guns mounted on tanks and drones. 'They encircled us and started firing directly at us,' he said. Monzer Fesifes, a Palestinian-Jordanian, said his 19-year-old son Hisham was among those killed in the Teina area. 'He went to bring food from the failed US, Zionist aid to feed us,' the father of six said, pleading for the Jordanian government to help evacuate them from the Palestinian enclave. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 25 bodies, along with dozens of wounded. Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of yards north of another GHF hub in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, the hospital said. The toll was also confirmed by the health ministry. Dr Mohamed Saker, the head of Nasser's nursing department, said it received 70 wounded people. He told the Associated Press that most of the casualties were shot in the head and chest, and some were placed in the already overwhelmed intensive care unit. 'The situation is difficult and tragic,' he said, adding that the facility lacks medical supplies to treat the daily flow of casualties. Meanwhile, Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency servcie in northern Gaza, confirmed the two deaths in Gaza City. He said an air strike hit a tent in a camp sheltering displaced families in the courtyard of the Development Ministry. Gaza's more than two million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and the territory is on the edge of famine, according to food security experts. Distribution at the GHF sites has often been chaotic. Boxes of food are left stacked on the ground inside the centres and, once opened, crowds charge in to grab whatever they can, according to witnesses and videos released by the GHF. In videos obtained recently by the AP from an American contractor working with the GHF, contractors use tear gas and stun grenades to keep crowds behind metal fences or to force them to disperse. Gunshots can also be heard. Hamas triggered the ongoing 21-month war in Gaza when it stormed into southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. An Israeli military offensive has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, displaced nearly all of Gaza's two million people and caused widespread destruction. Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar in recent weeks, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.
