Palestinians in Gaza claim they were fired upon by both local gunmen and Israeli forces while heading to an aid distribution center run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday.
Witnesses reported that for the first time, Palestinian gunmen near the GHF site in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah opened fire on them, in addition to Israeli troops. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, six people were killed and 99 injured in areas designated for aid collection.
The Israeli military stated it is investigating the reports, while the GHF said the Tal al-Sultan site did not operate on Monday due to chaos, and aid distribution proceeded without incident at two other sites in southern and central Gaza.
However, eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes, with one witness, Hisham Saeed Salem, recounting: “At first, we thought they might be Palestinian youths helping with the process, but suddenly, they began shooting at us. Even those who managed to get a box of aid were targeted and shot. We still don’t know who these attackers are. They took everything from us – some even stole from us during the chaos.”
Another man, Mohammed Sakout, narrowly escaped death, saying: “Several young men were shot and killed right behind me. I narrowly escaped death – some bullets passed just inches from my head. At first, it was the Israeli army that was shooting at civilians. But today, we were shocked to discover the presence of gangs and militias.”
A seriously injured man, Mohammed Kabaga, being treated for a gunshot wound to his neck at Nasser hospital, described a similar ordeal: “A group of masked armed men who were organising us starting firing towards us directly. We went to get aid. They said to stand in line. We stood in line and suddenly they started shooting at us. While I was standing, I was surprised when a bullet hit me, I got dizzy and fell down.”
The GHF’s interim executive director, John Acree, reported that the organization delivered over 11 million meals in the past two weeks “without an injury or major incident at our distribution sites”. In contrast, Gaza’s health ministry stated hospitals received 127 dead and 1,287 injured people from areas designated for aid distribution during the same period.