Israel accused of latest horrific massacre in Gaza after "absolute carnage" at US-backed aid center
Rafah, Gaza - Israeli forces killed at least 31 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution site in Gaza on Sunday, according to witnesses and the territory's civil defense agency.
Israel has faced growing condemnation and accusations of genocide over the famine and mass killing it is subjecting more than two million Palestinians in Gaza, with full US backing.
To ease international pressure, a shadowy US organization has been put in charge of distributing what experts have described as a meager amount of aid, bypassing the longstanding UN-led system.
The opaque Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been accused of weaponizing aid by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances, corralling them in humiliating conditions, and collaborating with Israel to surveilling them.
Its own executive director Jake Wood – an ex-US Marine – quit last week, saying the project could not adhere to humanitarian principles.
On Sunday, the chaotic scenes already typical for GHC distribution centers turned deadly as Israeli soldiers reportedly opened fire on people gathered to collect aid in Rafah, killing 31 and injuring more than 176, according to Gaza civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal.
AFP images showed Palestinians transporting bodies on donkey carts near the aid point as others carried away boxes and bags of supplies under the early-morning sun.
Abdullah Barbakh, a 58-year-old Palestinian man, described the horrific events.
"The army opened fire from drones and tanks," he said. "I don't understand why they call people to the aid centers and then open fire on them."
"You feed me and then you kill me?"
Near another GHF aid center in central Gaza, AFP images showed rescuers evacuating injured people. Bassal reported one dead and dozens wounded there, again blaming Israeli fire.
Both the Israeli military and GHF denied the reports, blaming Hamas for spreading "fake" reports.
Sameh Hamuda, a displaced 33-year-old from northern Gaza, told AFP he had walked from Gaza City and spent the night with relatives near Rafah before heading to the aid center around 5:00 AM local time to wait among a crowd of people.
"Suddenly quadcopter drones opened fire on the people, and tanks started shooting heavily. Several people were killed right in front of me," he said. "I ran and survived. Death follows you as long as you're in Gaza."
At Al-Awda hospital in central Gaza, Umm Muhammad Abu Khousa told AFP her son was among those wounded near the other aid centre in Bureij.
"You feed me and then you kill me?" she said from her son's bedside.
Doctors and aid organizations confirm atrocity
Victoria Rose – a British surgeon visiting Nasser Hospital where many of the patients from Rafah were taken – described in a video message from the facility a scene of "absolute carnage," saying "all the bays are full, and they're all gunshot wounds."
Speaking about the reported deaths to ABC, World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain said "our people are reporting the same thing on the ground."
"It's a tragedy. And what we need right now is an immediate ceasefire, complete, unfettered access... to feed people and stop this catastrophe from happening," she added.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Sunday that Gaza "aid distribution has become a death trap".
"Aid deliveries and distribution must be at scale and safe," he added in a post on X. "In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA."
Cover photo: AFP