Israel Fires on Starving Palestinians at US-Backed Gaza Aid Site, Kills at Least Three

Israeli forces opened fire on starving Palestinians who surged a US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid site near Rafah, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, Gaza health officials and witnesses said.

“Topic:Unrest, Conflict and War Israel says its troops have fired warning shots outside a new aid centre in Gaza as Palestinians rushed in for food”

abc.net.au

Al Jazeera reported that at least three Palestinians were killed, 46 wounded and seven reported missing after crowds rushed the GHF site, and said Gaza authorities blamed Israeli troops while GHF denied the casualty figures.

abc.net.au

Middle East Eye said at least three people were killed and dozens wounded in a crush at a controversial US‑Israel aid distribution site in Rafah and noted videos showed crowds overrunning the compound.

The Guardian described footage of panicked civilians, including women and children, running and trampling barbed wire and cited the UN human rights office saying most injured were hit by gunfire.

France 24 and The Sydney Morning Herald likewise reported gunfire, flares and at least one death amid chaos at the fenced distribution hub.

This account foregrounds Gaza and witness claims that Israeli forces fired on civilians at the distribution site while GHF and Israeli officials denied or downplayed responsibility.

The distribution hub was run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial body backed by the United States and Israel.

It set up fenced, guarded sites in Rafah that humanitarian agencies refused to join, saying the model politicises and militarises aid and risks coercing population movement.

Al Jazeera

PBS reported UN and aid officials warned Gazans facing famine have lost hope after Israel-backed relief hubs proved inadequate and risky, and that UN agencies have refused to participate.

abc.net.au quoted the ICRC warning that humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised, while France 24 and Middle East Eye noted that the UN and most humanitarian groups rejected the new private-contractor aid model as unable to meet Gaza's needs.

Eyewitnesses and journalists on the ground reported tank and gunfire and a military helicopter firing flares as the crowd surged the site.

“Share Save The American company, supported by the Israeli occupation army, lost control today, Tuesday, of the aid center it opened in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, after occupation forces fired shots when crowds of Palestinians gathered at the site”

Al-Jazeera Net

An AP journalist heard gunfire, which The Sydney Morning Herald described as tank and gunfire accompanied by a military helicopter firing flares.

The UN human rights office told reporters that Israeli army fire appeared to have caused most of the injuries.

GHF insisted its private contractors did not fire, fell back, and later resumed aid operations.

Israel said its troops fired warning shots.

These conflicting accounts leave unclear whether private contractors, Israeli soldiers, or other actors caused the most severe casualties, but multiple sources report live fire and a heavy military presence at the distributions.

International and humanitarian reaction split sharply.

The UN called footage from the site "heartbreaking" and refused to join the GHF plan.

AP News

The UN spokesman said the GHF plan "does not meet the UN's principles of independent, impartial and operationally sound aid distribution."

Gaza authorities condemned the incident as a "deliberate massacre and a war crime."

Several humanitarian groups rejected the GHF model and warned it "effectively lets Israel use food as a means of control," while the ICRC cautioned against militarising aid.

By contrast, the United States and Israel defended the GHF initiative as necessary to prevent diversion to Hamas and portrayed the operation as coordinated, with GHF and some Israeli officials highlighting distribution numbers and describing the operation as controlled.

The Rafah distributions and subsequent shootings deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where Israeli policies and siege have choked supplies.

“The UN Human Rights Office has said it believes 47 people were injured in Gaza on Tuesday when crowds overwhelmed an aid distribution centre run by a controversial new group backed by the US and Israel”

BBC

Multiple outlets reported Gaza’s Health Ministry tally of more than 54,000 Palestinians killed since the war began after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, and warned of famine and mass displacement.

BBC

PBS noted U.N. and aid officials said Gazans facing famine 'have lost hope' and warned that fenced, guarded hubs would be inadequate.

France 24 and Middle East Eye said the launch followed nearly three months of border closures that have pushed Gaza toward famine.

Israel and GHF claimed thousands of boxes were distributed, but UN and aid groups say their own vetted plans and existing safeguards are better placed to meet needs.

The incident amplifies accusations that Israel is using aid control and forced movements as tools in its campaign, allegations echoed in several reports and by Palestinian authorities.