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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday demanded an independent investigation into the deaths and injuries of dozens of Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution centre in Gaza, following a deadly incident on Sunday.
According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 close to the aid site in Rafah, southern Gaza. Hospitals nearby reported a surge in gunshot victims. However, the Israeli military denied firing directly at people near or within the aid centre, saying only “warning shots” were fired at suspects about a kilometre away.
“I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday,” Guterres said in a statement. “It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food. I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”
Israel’s foreign ministry criticised Guterres’s statement, labelling it “a disgrace” and accusing him of failing to condemn Hamas. The incident occurred outside the operational hours of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group running the aid centre with Israeli cooperation but without UN involvement due to neutrality concerns.
Eyewitnesses described the shooting as chaotic and deadly, with one recalling that “bullets were chasing people even as they tried to flee.” Photos showed bodies being loaded onto carts shortly after sunrise. Gaza civil defence teams and paramedics rushed victims to hospitals, with many suffering gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
An Israeli military source confirmed warning shots were fired overnight towards suspects approaching troops roughly a kilometre from the GHF centre. Meanwhile, GHF accused Hamas of spreading “fake reports,” insisting that aid distribution on Sunday was incident-free.
The International Committee of the Red Cross reported its field hospital in Rafah received 179 wounded individuals, including 21 dead on arrival, most claiming they had been trying to reach the aid site.
The tragic episode underscores the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza following ongoing Israeli blockade and conflict. The UN has warned the entire population faces famine risk, while clashes continue to escalate, with Israel conducting strikes on what it calls terror targets.
Since Israel resumed its bombardment in March, Gaza’s health ministry reports over 4,200 deaths, mostly civilians, while Hamas’s attack on Israel earlier this year killed more than 1,200 people.
