UN reports casualties, while Israel denies accusations.
The organization overseeing humanitarian aid deliveries in the Gaza Strip with the backing of Israel and the United States announced Wednesday that it is temporarily halting the distribution of supplies following incidents this week in Rafah, in southern Gaza.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said in a statement that it is working to ensure aid distribution resumes soon, attributing the delays to chaotic scenes at distribution points, according to the German news agency DPA.
In a separate statement reported by Bloomberg, GHF clarified that two of its four aid centers remain operational and will provide approximately 840,000 meals to Gaza’s population. The organization also announced plans to open additional delivery points across the territory.
GHF rejected reports of casualties and injuries during Tuesday’s incidents, denying that any shooting took place within the aid sites. “No beneficiaries were harmed, there were no fatalities, and all available food was distributed without interruption,” the group emphasized.
However, a spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office told Europa Press that the incident left at least one person dead and 47 others injured.
Later, Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani accused Hamas, the militant group governing Gaza, of spreading “fake news” about a total suspension of aid deliveries by GHF due to the unrest. “Hamas would literally do anything to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching its people and to maintain control,” he said.
The Israeli army reported that its forces had fired “warning shots” at the Rafah distribution point amid the chaotic scenes, though it did not provide details about casualties. Meanwhile, Gaza authorities under Hamas control reported that at least three civilians were killed in what they described as a “massacre” targeting “hungry civilians.”
GHF, based in Switzerland, has come under criticism from the UN and other humanitarian groups, which earlier this month refused to participate in the aid distribution plan, arguing that it violates fundamental humanitarian principles of impartiality, independence, and neutrality due to the involvement of Israeli armed forces.
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