20 Palestinians killed at Gaza aid distribution site, says Israeli-backed aid group

TEL AVIV Israel AP An Israeli-backed American organization that runs an aid scheme in the Gaza Strip stated Wednesday Palestinians were killed at a distribution site This comes as Israeli strikes killed others including children according to hospital administrators The Gaza Humanitarian Fund announced people were trampled in a stampede and one person was fatally stabbed in the violence at a distribution hub in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis The group which rarely acknowledges trouble at its distribution sites accused Hamas of fomenting panic and spreading misinformation that led to the violence though it provided no evidence to encouragement the claim These are the first fatalities that GHF has certified at their aid distribution sites The United Nations human rights office and Gaza s Wellbeing Ministry say Palestinians in the enclave have been killed while waiting to receive aid since May with of those being killed in the vicinity of aid distribution sites run by GHF Meanwhile Israeli strikes killed people in northern Gaza including children and others in the city of Khan Younis The Israeli military reported it has struck more than targets in the past hours across the Gaza Strip including Hamas military infrastructure of tunnels and weapons storage facilities Israel accuses Hamas of hiding military infrastructure amidst civilian areas in Gaza Also on Wednesday the Israeli military informed the opening of a fourth corridor bisecting the southern city of Khan Younis where Israeli troops have seized land in what they stated is a pressure tactic against Hamas In the past these narrow strips of land have been a serious hurdle during ceasefire negotiations as Israel noted it wants to maintain military presence in those corridors Gaza s more than million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian situation Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct setting off the -month war Israel has bombarded and laid siege to the strip leaving multiple teetering on the edge of famine according to food safeguard experts GHF is an American organization registered in Delaware It was established in February to distribute humanitarian aid during the ongoing Gaza humanitarian predicament Since the GHF sites began operating Palestinians say Israeli troops open fire almost every day toward crowds on roads heading to the distribution points through Israeli military zones Videos distributed by GHF from an aid distribution early into its operations proved hundreds of Palestinians jostling for aid and sprinting towards the sites when they opened In videos obtained at the time by The Associated Press from a contractor who worked there Palestinians seeking access to the sites are pictured crowded between metal fences as contractors deploy tear gas and stun grenades Source