A crush at an aid centre in southern Gaza killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, with the site's operator blaming "Hamas operatives" within the crowd and the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency attributing the panic to Israeli gunfire.
It was the first time that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the United States and Israel, acknowledged deaths at one of its distribution sites after weeks of chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Palestinians being killed nearby while waiting to collect rations.
AFP footage showed lifeless bodies taken to a nearby hospital in the city of Khan Younis, with some placed on the floor and others on already-bloodied beds.
Abdullah Alian, a witness, said mayhem unfolded as the crowd of aid-seekers was hit with stun grenades and pepper spray.
"When they saw people starting to die on the ground and people on top of each other suffocating, they opened the gate and people started climbing on top of each other," Alian said.
It was not clear whether Alian was referring to US contractors securing GHF sites, Israeli forces or another party.
Palestinian health officials told Reuters that 21 people had died of suffocation at the site.
One medic said lots of people had been crammed into a small space and had been crushed.
The latest deaths came as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were ongoing, aiming to seal a deal for a 60-day ceasefire, the release of hostages held in Gaza and the unfettered flow of much-needed aid into the territory.
Hamas has accused Israel of wanting to retain long-term military control of Gaza — a key sticking point in the talks, which are now in their second week in Qatar.
Crowd crush
The GHF said that 19 of those killed on Wednesday "were trampled and one was stabbed amid a chaotic and dangerous surge".
GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay later told a briefing the incident was "instigated by armed Hamas operatives" and denied the use of tear gas or that shots were fired into the crowd.
"Limited use of pepper spray was deployed only to protect against additional loss of life," Fay said, adding that "warning shots were fired into the air at one point when GHF personnel identified that a child was being trampled".
Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 20 people were killed in the incident, blaming it on fire from Israeli troops.
Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP thousands had gathered at the site when "Israeli forces opened fire and used [tear] gas, causing panic and a stampede after aid centre guards closed the main gates in front of the hungry crowd".
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.
The GHF, an officially private effort, began operations in late May as Israel eased a two-month aid blockade that had sparked warnings of famine.
On Tuesday, the United Nations said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food since late May, including 674 "in the vicinity of GHF sites".
Last week, UN rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters "most of the injuries are gunshot injuries".
