IDF issues denial after reports of at least 31 people killed in Israeli attack near aid distribution site

At least 31 people have been killed near an aid distribution centre in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry.

Earlier, a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross reported that at least 21 people had been killed. The hospital, which has been receiving bodies and the wounded, also said another 175 people had been injured.

Witnesses said the deaths came after Israeli forces opened fire at a roundabout near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub, a new aid organisation backed by Israel and the US. However, Palestinian and Hamas-linked media have attributed the deaths it has reported on to an Israeli airstrike.

It is not yet clear if eyewitnesses and Hamas-affiliated media are giving different accounts of the same incident. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said "false reports have been spread" in recent hours.

The statement said: "[these include] serious allegations against the IDF regarding fire toward Gazan residents in the area of the humanitarian aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip. "Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false." The IDF says it is working with the American Civil Organisation (GHF) and other international aid organisations to get aid to civilians.

Witnesses tell of shooting The area where the reported shooting took place is controlled by Israeli forces. Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.

"There were many martyrs, including women," the 40-year-old man said. "We were about 300 metres away from the military." Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene.

"We weren't able to help him," he said. Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading to the hub.

He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said.

"They opened heavy fire directly toward us," he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded relative. Minister doesn't confirm reported attack In an interview on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Israel's deputy minister of foreign affairs Sharren Haskel suggested reports of the attack could be "Hamas propaganda".

Asked about the alleged attack near the aid hub, she said: "The IDF said it's actually reviewing this issue right now... They didn't have any information to give me before [this interview].

"But I have to say that during the last week, we have heard so much propaganda coming from Hamas about the humanitarian distribution point that I wouldn't be surprised if that's another case like that." She added: "We've just heard about this case from your media, that was literally two minutes before I came online to your show." Controversial new aid system The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) operates as part of a controversial aid system which Israel and the US says is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance. Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.

The foundation's distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.

Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials. Aid distribution is a 'death trap' Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, said the Rafah incident shows aid distribution in Gaza "has become a death trap".

In a post on X on Sunday, Mr Lazzarini pointed to "mass casualties, including scores of injured and killed among starving civilians due to gunshots this morning.