A devastating incident at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution center in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, claimed at least 20 Palestinian lives on Wednesday. The US-backed GHF reported that the deaths resulted from a crowd surge, allegedly provoked by armed individuals linked to Hamas. The organization stated that 19 people were trampled and one was fatally stabbed during the chaos.

Hamas dismissed the GHF’s claims as “baseless,” instead pointing fingers at the GHF and the Israeli military for the tragedy. Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene, alleging that guards used pepper gas and locked the center’s gates, trapping people between the gates and an outer wire fence. Mahmoud Fojo, a 21-year-old survivor injured in the stampede, recounted how the crowd’s pressure caused people to fall and be crushed. “Some jumped over the fence and got hurt. We thought we were going to die,” he said, describing the moment he recited prayers in fear for his life.

Palestinian health officials confirmed 21 deaths by suffocation, with one medic noting that a large crowd was squeezed into a confined area. The GHF and Israeli military have not yet responded to these accounts. The UN rights office in Geneva reported that over the past six weeks, at least 875 people have been killed near aid sites in Gaza, many near GHF centers, with locals often attributing the deaths to Israeli gunfire. The Israeli military acknowledged civilian harm near aid sites, stating it has updated its operational guidelines.

The GHF, which relies on US private security and logistics to deliver aid, operates outside the UN-led system, which Israel claims is vulnerable to looting by Hamas-led militants—a charge Hamas denies. The UN has criticized the GHF’s model as unsafe and a violation of humanitarian principles, a claim the GHF rejects. Amjad Al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network, accused the GHF of mismanagement, highlighting how thousands of desperate, hungry people are packed into poorly organized spaces with insufficient aid.

The ongoing war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, has displaced nearly the entire population and caused widespread hunger. On the same day as the crush, the Israeli military completed a new road in southern Gaza to separate towns east of Khan Younis, aiming to disrupt Hamas operations. Palestinians view the road as a tactic to pressure Hamas in ceasefire talks, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the US, which began on July 6 but have yet to yield a breakthrough. Hamas rejected Israel’s demand to control 40% of Gaza in any deal and called for the GHF’s dissolution in favor of UN-led aid distribution.

Hamas official Basem Naim argued that the road signals Israel’s intent to maintain control over Gaza, undermining ceasefire efforts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists the war will continue until Hamas is disarmed and removed. Gaza health authorities reported 87 deaths from Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, with the conflict’s toll exceeding 58,000 Palestinian and 1,650 Israeli and foreign national deaths, including 1,200 from the October 7 attack, per official counts.