The incident occurred in Khan Younis, where thousands of desperate civilians had gathered outside the GHF-run facility to receive food and essential supplies. As the gates opened, panic erupted among the crowd. GHF reported that 19 people were trampled to death and one person was fatally stabbed amid the chaos.
The cause of the stampede remains contested. In a statement, GHF claimed that “armed agitators” disrupted the distribution process, inciting fear and triggering the fatal rush. “Our teams used only non-lethal crowd-control measures, including pepper spray,” the organization said.
Palestinian health officials and eyewitnesses, however, attributed the deaths to a combination of poor crowd management and alleged Israeli military activity in the area. Some reports suggested that shots fired by Israeli forces near the compound may have contributed to the panic. Israeli officials have not commented publicly on the incident.
Dr. Youssef Abu Reesh, a senior official at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said that most of the victims “died from suffocation and trampling.” Medical staff described a scene of confusion and overcrowding, with more than 30 others injured.
The tragedy comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where international aid deliveries have struggled to meet the needs of a population devastated by months of war, displacement, and economic collapse. The United Nations estimates that more than 875 people have died in the last six weeks alone while attempting to access food or aid many of them at or near distribution centers operated by GHF.
In Washington, officials have defended continued U.S. support for GHF, calling it a “critical channel” for delivering relief to Gaza’s civilian population. Still, the latest incident has intensified scrutiny of the foundation’s operations. Human rights groups have raised concerns over its transparency, security protocols, and perceived alignment with Israeli military objectives.
“The collapse of humanitarian order in Gaza is not accidental, it reflects a system that is being overwhelmed and, in many cases, compromised,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
This marks the first time GHF has publicly acknowledged fatalities at one of its sites. Previously, the organization has disputed casualty reports, placing responsibility on “external interference” rather than internal mismanagement.
Calls for an independent investigation into the Khan Younis crush are growing. Humanitarian organizations and U.N. agencies have urged all parties including Israel and Hamas to ensure that aid delivery is conducted with full respect for civilian protection and international law.
“This is not just a tragedy, it’s a failure of our shared responsibility to uphold human dignity,” said Martin Griffiths, the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
As night fell on Khan Younis, grieving families gathered outside hospitals, some unable to recover the bodies of their loved ones. The names of the dead had not been publicly released by Wednesday morning.
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