Rafah, Gaza Strip —The United Nations has called for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians near an aid distribution point in Rafah, southern Gaza, amid sharply conflicting accounts of what happened.
According to eyewitnesses and local health officials, Israeli forces opened fire on crowds gathered early Sunday morning to receive food aid. The site is run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group supported by Israel and the United States.
The Red Cross said its field hospital in Rafah treated 179 people, including women and children, many with gunshot wounds. Twenty-one were dead on arrival. Gaza’s Civil Defence, which is run by Hamas, put the death toll at 31, blaming Israeli troops for the shooting.
The Israeli military denies firing on civilians. “Our forces did not open fire at any aid seekers near the distribution point,” said Brigadier General Effie Defrin. “These are false reports spread by Hamas to incite unrest.”
The GHF also rejected the claims, calling them “outright fabrications”. In a statement, the foundation said: “There were no injuries, fatalities, or incidents during our operations. We have seen no evidence to suggest an attack near our site.”
Israel has barred international journalists from entering Gaza, making independent verification difficult. Video footage posted online appeared to show people taking cover as gunfire echoed across a sandy open area, but the location could not be confirmed.
Speaking in New York, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “appalled” by the reports. “I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events, and for those responsible to be held accountable,” he said.
Israel’s foreign ministry hit back, calling his remarks “a disgrace” for failing to mention Hamas.
On Monday, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, said the method of aid delivery in Gaza had become “dehumanising”. In an interview with the media, he said: “Imagine being starved for weeks, then being forced to run through danger just to get food. It shows a shocking disregard for civilian life.”
Médecins Sans Frontières confirmed its teams in Khan Younis treated critically injured patients from Rafah. Some, they said, claimed to have been “shot at from all directions” by drones, helicopters, tanks and soldiers. One staff member said his brother was killed while trying to collect food.
An Israeli military official later told reporters that troops had fired warning shots at a group approaching their position roughly a kilometre from the aid site. “There was no link between this security incident and the reports of civilian deaths,” the official said.
Drone footage released by the Israeli military showed what it described as armed men firing on civilians en route to the distribution site. The press said it could not independently verify when or where the footage was taken.
On Monday evening, reports emerged of another deadly episode near the same area. Health officials said three Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near the Tal al-Sultan district of Rafah. The Red Cross confirmed receiving 50 casualties at its field hospital, including two bodies. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received a third.
In a separate incident, Gaza’s Civil Defence reported that an Israeli airstrike killed 14 people, including six children, in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Twenty others were said to be trapped beneath the rubble. Israel has not commented on that strike but said it had targeted multiple “terror sites” in the past 24 hours.
Tensions have surged since Israel resumed its offensive on 2 March, following the collapse of a temporary ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month vowed to take “full control” of Gaza in a broadened military campaign.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas’ deadly attack on 7 October 2023, in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza now says over 54,000 Palestinians have died in Israeli strikes since then, with thousands more missing or wounded.
Israel maintains that military pressure is necessary to force the release of hostages still held in Gaza and to dismantle Hamas’ capabilities. But with mounting civilian casualties and growing concern over aid access, international pressure is intensifying.
“The suffering in Gaza is no longer a side story,” said Türk. “It is the story.”
