UN calls for investigation into killings in Gaza near aid distribution site; Israel says ‘disgrace’
“Hamas is doing its best to stop us from doing so. It is spreading rumours and fake news, and is trying..."
UN calls for investigation into killings in Gaza near aid distribution site latest news: The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, called for an immediate and independent investigation into reports of Palestinians being killed while seeking aid near a distribution centre in Gaza on Sunday.
Guterres’s call comes after disputed reports that Israeli forces had opened fire on people waiting to collect aid, according to a BBC report.
“I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food. I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held accountable,” the UN Secretary-General wrote in a post on X.
The killings reportedly occurred while the victims were waiting for food from a centre in Rafah run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
As per the BBC report, the Red Cross stated that its hospital received 179 casualties, including children and women, of which 21 were dead. The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported the death toll to be 31.
The Israeli military on Sunday denied attacking civilians near or at the centre. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) also claimed that the reports were fabricated.
International news organizations, including the BBC, are not allowed by Israel to enter Gaza.
Israel's foreign ministry, calling the UN Secretary-General’s statement a “disgrace,” criticized it for not mentioning Hamas.
“What a disgrace. Even if you look very hard, there’s one word you won’t find in the Secretary-General’s statement: Hamas,” Israel's foreign ministry responded in a post on X.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres Antonio Guterres further wrote in his post, “Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately. The UN must be allowed to work in safety and security under conditions of full respect of humanitarian principles. I continue to call for an immediate permanent, sustainable ceasefire. All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. This is the only path to ensuring security for all. There is no military solution to the conflict.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah treated the majority of the 179 people injured in the attack, most of whom suffered gunshot wounds and shrapnel injuries. The ICRC added, "All patients said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site."
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), according to a BBC report, stated that its teams at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis also treated people wounded in the attack. MSF said that the patients "reported being shot at from all sides by Israeli drones, helicopters, boats, tanks, and soldiers," and that one staff member’s brother was "killed while attempting to collect aid from the distribution centre."
A journalist in Rafah told the BBC that a crowd of Palestinians had gathered near the al-Alam roundabout in Rafah, close to the GHF’s site, when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire.
IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin, on June 1, stated that “false reports have been spread” regarding the alleged open fire on Palestinians in the area of the humanitarian aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip.
“Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site, and that reports to this effect are false,” he stated.
He further said, “Hamas does everything in its power to undermine food distribution efforts in the Gaza Strip.”
He added that Hamas “starves and endangers the population in order to preserve its control over the Gaza Strip. As part of its brutal behavior and its attempts to disrupt humanitarian aid, Hamas directly harms the residents of Gaza.”
Later the same day, IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin released a video on his X handle, claiming he had visited the area of the GHF humanitarian aid distribution centers to set the record straight and provide some operational updates.
In the video, the spokesperson said, “I am here in the city of Rafah. Right behind me, you can see one of the distribution centres we opened in the last few days. So far, we have opened four distribution centres, and we intend to open more. We have already launched or distributed more than 16,000 packages of food to the people, and more than a thousand trucks have already entered Gaza with humanitarian aid.
“Hamas is doing its best to stop us from doing so. It is spreading rumours and fake news, and is trying—bluntly and violently—to prevent the people of Gaza from reaching those distribution centres. I urge you not to believe every rumour spread by Hamas. We will investigate each and every one of these incidents and allegations. We are a professional military, and we will do our best to dismantle Hamas, release our hostages, and separate the population of Gaza from Hamas and its leadership,” IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin added.
The IDF also released a video regarding the matter, stating, “Drone footage shows gunmen in Gaza shooting at civilians going to collect aid.”
“Hamas is doing everything in its power to prevent the successful distribution of food in Gaza,” read the caption of the video posted on IDF official X handle on June 1.