GAZA CITY: At least 20 people were killed in a chaotic crush at an aid centre in southern Gaza on Wednesday, with the site's operator blaming "agitators" within the crowd and the territory's civil defence agency attributing the panic to Israeli gunfire.
It was the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) first acknowledgement of deaths at one of its aid centres after weeks of chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Palestinians being killed nearby while waiting to collect rations.
The latest deaths came as Hamas accused Israel of wanting to retain long-term military control of Gaza — a key sticking point in ongoing negotiations aiming to seal a deal for a 60-day ceasefire, the release of hostages and the unfettered flow of much-needed aid.
A Palestinian source close to the negotiations said there had been "no progress so far" in the indirect talks, which are now in their second week in Doha.
In Khan Yunis, the GHF said it understood that 19 of those killed on Wednesday "were trampled and one was stabbed amid a chaotic and dangerous surge".
It said the crush was "driven by agitators", adding: "We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd -- armed and affiliated with Hamas -- deliberately fomented the unrest".
Gaza's civil defence agency confirmed at least 20 people were killed in the incident, but blamed it on fire from Israeli troops.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that thousands had gathered at the scene 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 immediately respond to a request for comment.
AFP footage showed lifeless bodies being taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, with some placed on the floor and others on already-bloodied beds.
"They fired stun grenades at us and sprayed us with pepper spray," said Abdullah Alian, who witnessed the crush.
"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."
Paramedic Ziad Farhat said that after 21 months of devastating war, "there are not enough hospitals for the injured or the martyrs, and there is not enough land for the cemeteries".
"Enough of what is happening, enough of the tragedies that we are living," he said.
The GHF, an officially private effort, began operations on May 26 after Israel had blocked supplies from entering the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking warnings of imminent famine.
On Tuesday, the UN said it had recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food, including 674 "in the vicinity of GHF sites", since late May. — AFP
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