"Red Cross Reports at Least 21 Dead, Dozens Injured in Gaza Aid Incident"

    Injured Palestinians were transported to Nasser Hospital following the incident.

Gaza Strip – At least 21 people were confirmed dead and nearly 180 injured following a mass casualty incident near an aid distribution center in southern Gaza, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

In a statement issued Sunday, the ICRC said its field hospital in Rafah received 179 wounded individuals—many of them women and children—with gunshot or shrapnel injuries. Twenty-one people were declared dead on arrival. The organization described it as the highest number of weapon-related injuries it had treated in a single incident since opening the 60-bed facility over a year ago.

“All patients said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site,” the ICRC noted, though it did not specify who was responsible for the violence.

    Bodies were transported to Nasser Hospital in the aftermath of the incident.

Conflicting Accounts

The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency claimed that at least 31 people were killed and many more wounded by Israeli gunfire targeting civilians near the aid center in Rafah. In contrast, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the allegations, stating that an initial inquiry found Israeli troops had not fired on civilians near or within the aid area.

The IDF released drone footage showing masked and armed individuals allegedly firing at civilians collecting aid in nearby Khan Younis. The BBC, which has limited access to Gaza due to Israeli restrictions, said it could not independently verify the footage.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates aid distribution centers in the region, also denied that any attack occurred near its sites. It accused Hamas of spreading misinformation about casualties.

Eyewitness Accounts and Additional Reports

Despite these denials, numerous local sources reported scenes of chaos and suffering. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 14 people were injured in a separate incident near an aid center in the Netzarim Corridor. Doctors at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis told the BBC that around 200 people arrived with injuries, most from bullets or shrapnel.

Medical personnel from the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians said that many victims had been shot in the head or chest. Footage shared by local journalists showed victims being transported on donkey carts and trucks due to the difficulty of accessing the area.

Victoria Rose, a British surgeon working at Nasser Hospital, described overwhelmed conditions in a video message. “All the bays are full, and they’re all gunshot wounds,” she said.

Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

Gaza's Health Ministry later confirmed that 31 people had died and over 200 were wounded in the Rafah incident. Rescue operations were reportedly delayed as Israeli forces maintained control of the area, making it unsafe for emergency crews to reach the injured.

A BBC journalist in Rafah, Mohammed Ghareeb, said the attack occurred around 04:30 local time near the Al-Alam roundabout. He reported that Israeli tanks opened fire as Palestinians gathered to receive aid. "The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time," he said, as residents used donkey carts to transport victims to safety.

Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defence, told AFP that over 100 people were wounded by Israeli gunfire aimed at crowds waiting for food.

Broader Context

The incidents come amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely restricted access to food, water, and medical aid. The World Food Programme reported chaotic scenes Saturday as desperate civilians rushed incoming aid trucks.

The GHF, a recently established organization supported by the US and Israel, claims to have distributed 4.7 million meals across Gaza this week, though the BBC has not been able to verify that number independently.

Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 54,418 people have been killed in the territory since the war began.