UN chief 'appalled' by reports of deaths of Palestinians while seeking food aid

GENEVA - The United Nations Secretary General said on Monday he was appalled by reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, and called for an independent investigation.

"It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians and wounded dozens of others near an aid distribution site operated by the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, local health authorities said on Monday.

The Israeli military said it was aware of reports of casualties and the incident was being thoroughly looked into.

It said in a statement that troops operating overnight in Rafah, which is under full Israeli military control, in the southern Gaza Strip, had fired warning shots "to prevent several suspects approaching them", adding the incident took place about 1 km (0.6 miles) away from the aid distribution site.

The GHF, a private group sponsored by the United States and endorsed by Israel, said there had been no fatalities or injuries at its distribution site or the surrounding area.

Reuters could not independently verify what took place.

The reported incident was the latest in a series underscoring the volatile security situation that has complicated aid delivery to Gaza, following the easing last month of an almost three-month Israeli blockade.

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials said at least 31 people were killed and dozens wounded near the same site, one of four operated by the GHF in Rafah.

The Israeli military denied firing at people gathering to collect aid, and the GHF said Sunday's distribution was carried out without incident, describing reports of deaths as fabricated by Hamas.

In a separate statement, the Israeli military said that in the past day its forces expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip, killed gunmen, and dismantled weapons storage facilities and military infrastructure above and under the ground.

Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes across the enclave had killed 51 people and wounded 500 others in the past 24 hours.

RISK OF FAMINE

The GHF said Monday's deliveries raised the number of meals it has distributed since it began operations to nearly 6 million.

The United Nations has said most of Gaza's 2 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid entering the strip.

The GHF launched its first distribution sites last week and said it would launch more.

Its aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the UN and humanitarian organisations, which say the GHF does not follow humanitarian principles.

The Palestinian NGOs Network urged a boycott of what it called the "US-Israeli aid mechanism" in protest over the killings on Sunday.

At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives of Hussam Wafi, a 37-year-old father-of-six, who was killed near the aid site on Sunday, arrived to pay their last respects before burial. Wafi's brother Ali said the victims were driven by hunger.

“The US and Israel, what do they tell us? Go and get your food and water, and the aid. When the aid arrives, they hit us. Is this fair?" Wafi told Reuters.

"They were going peacefully, they were killed. They went to get food and water for their children, to get a can of hummus or fava beans, a box or whatever is available, and they get shot, they died,” he added.

CEASEFIRE TALKS TO RESUME

Israel and Hamas, meanwhile, traded blame for the faltering of a new Arab and US mediation bid to secure a temporary ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli jails.

On Monday, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said Hamas leaders were in constant contact with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo and Doha.

Israel says it accepts a temporary truce to release hostages, but that war can only end once Hamas is driven out of Gaza.

Israel began its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza.

Israel's campaign has devastated much of Gaza, killing more than 54,000 Palestinians and destroying most buildings. Much of the population now lives in shelters in makeshift camps.