TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli-backed American organization that runs an aid program in the Gaza Strip said Wednesday that 20 Palestinians were killed near a distribution site. This comes as Israeli strikes killed 41 others, including 11 children, according to hospital officials.
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund said 19 people were trampled in a stampede and one person was fatally stabbed in the violence near a distribution hub in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The group, which rarely acknowledges trouble at its distribution sites, accused Hamas of fomenting panic and spreading misinformation that led to the violence, though it provided no evidence to support the claim.
The United Nations human rights office and Gaza’s Health Ministry say some 850 Palestinians in the enclave have been killed while waiting to receive aid since May, both at GHF distribution points or elsewhere.
Israeli strikes killed 22 people in northern Gaza, including 11 children, and 19 people in the city of Khan Younis. The Israeli military said it has struck more than 120 targets in the past 24 hours across the Gaza Strip, including Hamas military infrastructure of tunnels and weapons storage facilities.
Israel accuses Hamas of hiding military infrastructure amidst civilian areas in Gaza.
Also on Thursday, the Israeli military announced the opening of a fourth corridor, bisecting the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli troops have seized land in what they said is a pressure tactic against Hamas. In the past, these narrow strips of land have been a serious hurdle during ceasefire negotiations, as Israel said it wants to maintain military presence in those corridors.
Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, setting off the 21-month war, Israel has bombarded and laid siege to the strip, leaving many teetering on the edge of famine, according to food security experts.
GHF is an American organization registered in Delaware. It was established in February to distribute humanitarian aid during the ongoing Gaza humanitarian crisis. Since the GHF sites began operating, Palestinians say Israeli troops open fire almost every day toward crowds on roads heading to the distribution points, through Israeli military zones. Several hundred people have been killed and hundreds more wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and witnesses.