Deadly Stampede Rocks Gaza Aid Site Amid Blame Game
Aid Group Claims Hamas Agitators Caused Chaos; Hamas Denies, Cites Gas and Gunfire
At least 20 Palestinians perished Wednesday at a Gaza aid distribution point, reportedly due to a stampede and stabbing. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group receiving U.S. backing and support from Israel, stated that 19 individuals were trampled to death and another was fatally stabbed during a crush at their Khan Younis facility in southern Gaza.
Eyewitness Accounts Contradict GHF Narrative
Witnesses, however, recounted a different scene to CBC News, describing GHF guards deploying pepper spray, tear gas, and sound bombs against the assembled crowd. Young men like **Hani Hammad**, 18, were caught in the chaos. He described being trapped for approximately 30 minutes, losing consciousness amidst the trampling. “I got stuck and I was being trampled on for maybe 30 minutes and I lost consciousness,”
**Hammad** told a freelance videographer. Another survivor, **Mahmoud Fojo**, 21, who sustained injuries, said people were crushed as the crowd surged, with some attempting to scale fences for safety. “People kept gathering and pressuring each other; when people pushed each other … those who couldn’t stand fell under the people and were crushed,”
he stated, recounting the terrifying moments when they believed they were dying.
video-item-title">‘I was being trampled on’: Palestinians describe stampede at GHF aid site in Gaza
GHF and Hamas Trade Accusations
The GHF asserted that “credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd — armed and affiliated with Hamas — deliberately fomented the unrest.” They further stated that their pepper spray deployment was limited to preventing further loss of life and that claims of tear gas or gunfire were “blatantly false.” The foundation also suggested the incident was part of a Hamas effort to cease GHF operations, particularly during ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
Hamas vehemently denied these accusations, labeling them “false and misleading.”
They countered that GHF guards and Israeli soldiers fired upon civilians and used pepper gas. The group also called for the dismantling of the GHF as part of the ceasefire talks.
Palestinian health officials reported that suffocation was the cause of death for many, attributing the tragedy to overcrowding and crushing. This incident follows a UN rights office report detailing at least 875 killings near aid sites in Gaza over the past six weeks, with most deaths linked to gunfire locals attribute to the Israeli military. The Israeli military acknowledged civilian harm near distribution centers, citing new instructions after “lessons learned.”
Criticism of GHF’s Aid Model
The GHF’s operational model, which utilizes private U.S. security and logistics companies to bypass UN channels, has drawn criticism. The UN has deemed the GHF’s approach “inherently unsafe”
and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards. **Amjad Al-Shawa**, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network, accused the GHF of gross mismanagement, citing a lack of crowd control that resulted in death among desperate civilians.
“People who flock in their thousands are hungry and exhausted, and they get squeezed into narrow places, amid shortages of aid and the absence of organization and discipline by the GHF.”
—Amjad Al-Shawa, Director of the Palestinian NGOs Network
The ongoing conflict, sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack, has devastated Gaza, displacing nearly its entire population and creating widespread hunger. The war has resulted in over 58,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health authorities, while approximately 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed.
Ceasefire Talks Continue Amidst Unrest
The U.S. and Arab mediators are currently brokering ceasefire talks, which began July 6. Hamas is reportedly demanding the cessation of GHF operations and a return to a UN-led aid distribution system. The latest reports indicate no significant breakthrough on key issues.
These negotiations occur as Israel has constructed a new road in southern Gaza, reportedly to disrupt Hamas operations. The road’s strategic positioning is seen by Palestinians as leverage in pressuring Hamas during the talks. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli military strikes killed at least 87 people across the enclave on Wednesday.
