At least 31 people were killed and another 175 wounded Sunday after shots were fired at a food distribution site in southern Gaza, according to the Red Cross and witness reports — but the Israeli military is slamming “false reports” of a massacre.
The Israel Defense Forces was accused of firing shots around the crowd of thousands of starving Palestinians gathered in Rafah to receive aid from the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
But the IDF says no such incident happened, and posted five minutes of video of the food distribution line on Sunday, showing an orderly procession of refugees receiving aid.
People walk alongside a cart with bodies after the reported shooting at the food distribution center in Rafah, Gaza Strip on June 1, 2025. AFP via Getty ImagesThe civilians were allegedly fired at after they started lining up to receive aid at around 3 a.m. local time. Soldiers warned them to disperse until the site was officially opened, according to reports.
Witnesses said the gunfire erupted at around 1,000 yards from the distribution site, which is located inside an Israeli military zone.
“There were many martyrs, including women,” witness Ibrahim Abu Saoud told the Associated Press.
Reporters confirmed the presence of many bleeding and injured civilians being treated at the Red Cross field hospital, with other Palestinians arriving with a few boxes of aid from the distribution site.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 21 people arrived dead at the field hospital, the majority of whom suffered gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
The IDF denied that any of its troops fired directly at civilians, claiming only warning shots were fired in the early dawn “to prevent a number of suspects from approaching.”
A mule pulls the cart of bodies along the road in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP via Getty Images
Young people carry empty boxes from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as they walk near the Rafah food distribution center. AFP via Getty ImagesThe GHF, which is backed by Israel and the US but condemned by international humanitarian groups, denied the allegations that anyone was hurt at the site, slamming reports of the violence as “completely false and fabricated.”
“As noted in our daily report earlier, aid was distributed without incident,” the group said.
The IDF also defended the presence of its soldiers at the distribution site as necessary to ensure the aid was reaching civilians.
“The IDF is enabling the American civil organization (GHF) and international aid organizations to distribute aid to the residents of Gaza and not to Hamas,” the military said.
Sunday’s incident was only the latest surrounding the GHF’s Rafah facility, with at least six others killed and more than 50 wounded in recent days, according to Hamas-controlled Gaza health officials.
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the GHF, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows the Israeli military to control who receives aid and forces civilians to relocate.
The GHF’s chief resigned last week, citing the same concerns.
“Aid distribution has become a death trap,” Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General for the embattled UNRWA group, said of the latest violence.
The UN and other groups have struggled to feed Gaza’s nearly 2 million refugees following Israel’s total blockade in March, which has only eased a little in May.
The GHF has previously admitted that it could only help feed as much as 60% of the population, with aid groups saying the reality reflects a fraction of that estimate.
Experts have warned that the territory will face famine if more aid is not brought in soon.
With Post wires
