Stampede, stabbing kill twenty at GHF aid site, instigators believed to be Hamas

Yahoo

2 days ago

Nineteen of the victims were trampled and one was stabbed in the event, the GHF stated.
More than 20 Palestinian civilians were killed on Wednesday at a Gaza Humanitarian Food (GHF) site in Khan Yunis, most of them appearing to have been trampled, according to the aid agency.
GHF said, "We are heartbroken to confirm that 20 people died this morning in a tragic incident at SDS3 in Khan Younis. Our current understanding is that 19 of the victims were trampled and one was stabbed amid a chaotic and dangerous surge, driven by agitators in the crowd."
This is the first time that GHF has admitted to deaths occurring on its grounds, though in its early days in May, it admitted to some injuries and incidents where Palestinian civilians overwhelmed parts of the food facilities.
NGOs, the UN, and Gaza groups have claimed many other such deadly incidents, but GHF has said the other incidents were either fake news or occurred outside of the facility between the IDF and Gazaans, often accusing Hamas of being involved.
As of Tuesday, GHF has said it has distributed 76 million meals to Palestinians to date since May.
GHF added regarding the Wednesday incident, "We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas – deliberately fomented the unrest. For the first time since operations began, GHF personnel identified multiple firearms in the crowd, one of which was confiscated. An American worker was also threatened with a firearm by a member of the crowd during the incident."
It was unclear if GHf had additional signs of Hamas involvement beyond the firearms or what happened to those who brought firearms into the GHF site.
"This horrific event follows a deeply troubling pattern in recent days. False messages about aid site openings, including at SDS4 (Wadi Gaza) and the long-closed SDS1 (Tal Sultan), have circulated widely on Telegram and other platforms, fueling confusion, driving crowds to closed sites, and inciting disorder. Just last night, GHF issued a warning in Arabic via Facebook urging aid seekers to ignore these misleading messages, and to only refer to official GHF channels for updates on our operations," said GHF.
However, critics have said that a critical problem with the GHF sites in general is that there are too few of them and they inherently draw too many Palestinians at once.
In contrast, under the UN and other food aid NGOs, there were dozens or more localized sites for distributing food aid.
The plus of the GHF is that it has been breaking Hamas' control over food aid in central and southern Gaza, where it operates so far.
It has not yet operated in northern Gaza, where the UN and the NGOs still run the food aid operations.
GHF stated, "We mourn the lives lost today, and we remain committed to providing humanitarian aid as safely and responsibly as possible. GHF exists to serve the people of Gaza with compassion and integrity, and our mission has never been more urgent or more challenged."