At least 26 Palestinians were allegedly killed and over 80 others were injured in gunfire near a US-backed aid distribution site in southern Gaza's Rafah area. Gaza rescuers alleged that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near Al-Alam roundabout-- close to the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)-- on Sunday when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.
However, the reports of the attack were denied by sources in the Israeli embassy. The GHF also claimed that its aid distribution in Gaza went on "without" any incident and denied the Hamas allegations of an attack on civilians.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also took to X (formerly Twitter) and denied the reports of Israeli firing on Gazans near the aid centre in Rafah. In a video message, he said, "This morning, all world media reported a huge lie. They said that Israeli tanks opened fire at a food distribution centre... this has not happened. It's simply a lie."
Share now to expose the lie:
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) June 1, 2025
Israel did NOT open fire on or near any food distribution center.
THIS DID NOT HAPPEN.
שתפו עכשיו כדי לחשוף את השקר. pic.twitter.com/SxDtCjmOwW
The reports of the attack came shortly after Washington rejected a Hamas ceasefire proposal as "totally unacceptable". The injured were taken to Nasser Hospital -- one of the few functioning hospitals in Khan Younis on donkey carts, according to a BBC report, which confirmed at least 26 people have died in the attack.
Shortly after the attack on Sunday, Hamas accused Israeli forces operating in Rafah of committing "a new massacre against hungry civilians who had gathered at the so-called 'humanitarian aid' distribution sites", calling them "mass death traps, not humanitarian relief points".
Israel has faced mounting international criticism over the humanitarian crisis in war-ravaged Gaza, where the United Nations has warned that the entire population faces famine amid months-long Israeli blockade on aid since a brief truce collapsed in March.
The GHF, a private organisation backed by Israel and the United States, has been distributing food in the Gaza Strip since May 26, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade. However, the United Nations aid agencies have also criticised the GHF's aid mechanism, saying it violates humanitarian principles and raises the risks for Palestinians.
The UN's World Food Programme has called on Israel "to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster", saying desperation was "contributing to rising insecurity".
The United Nations and other major aid groups have also refused to cooperate with GHF, saying it violated basic humanitarian principles and appeared crafted to cater to Israeli military objectives.
Officially a private effort, GHF said it had distributed 2.1 million meals as of Friday.
In a statement on Sunday, Hamas accused Israeli forces operating in Rafah of committing "a new massacre against hungry civilians who had gathered at the so-called 'humanitarian aid' distribution sites", calling them "mass death traps, not humanitarian relief points".
Truce Talks
Hamas said on Saturday that it had responded positively to a US-backed ceasefire proposal, but Washington's main negotiator criticised Hamas's reply as "totally unacceptable". The Palestinian armed group said it had emphasised the need for a permanent ceasefire -- long a sticking point for Israel.
And a source within the Palestinian group's political bureau told news agency AFP that it had also pushed for a "full Israeli withdrawal" from the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Israel had warned Hamas to either accept the deal and free the hostages held in Gaza, or be "annihilated". US envoy Steve Witkoff called Hamas's response to its truce offer on Saturday "totally unacceptable", and urged it to "accept the framework proposal we put forward".
"That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have... substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire," he added in a post on X.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34, the Israeli military says, are dead. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Saturday that at least 4,117 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,381, mostly civilians. Hamas's attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
