Displaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
Seven people also went missing in the ensuing stampede, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
Thousands of Palestinians clambered over fences and pushed through packed crowds to reach life-saving supplies brought by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a new, controversial US-Israeli-backed group tasked with the delivery of aid to Palestinians in the besieged strip.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, had earlier confirmed to reporters in Geneva that 47 people were wounded, mostly by gunfire.
"What happened in Rafah is a true massacre and a full-fledged war crime, committed in cold blood against civilians exhausted by the ongoing siege and starvation that has lasted for more than 90 days since the closure of the crossings, and nearly 20 months since the genocide and the complete interruption of food and medicine to the Strip," the Gaza Government Media Office said in a statement.
The office also denounced the Israeli-run aid distribution project in the so-called “buffer zones” in Gaza as a total failure.
"What is happening is clear evidence of the occupation's failure to manage the humanitarian situation it deliberately created," the office stated.
Displaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 27, 2025. AFP
Distraction from atrocities
Following the chaotic scenes and the deadly shooting in Rafah, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) slammed the new US-Israeli-backed aid distribution model in Gaza.
"I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities. We already have an aid distribution system that is fit for purpose," Philippe Lazzarini said in Japan.
"The humanitarian community in Gaza, including UNRWA, is ready. We have the experience and expertise to reach people in need," he added.
"The clock is ticking towards famine, so humanitarian (organisations) must be allowed to do its life-saving work now," Lazzarini stated.
"We have seen yesterday the shocking images of hungry people pushing against fences, desperate for food. It was chaotic, undignified and unsafe," he said.
On Wednesday, Lazzarini affirmed that Israel's model of aid distribution does not align with the core humanitarian principle.
"It will deprive a large part of Gaza, the highly vulnerable people, of desperately needed assistance," he expressed.
The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah was opened on Tuesday by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which Israel has slated to take over aid operations.
The UN and other humanitarian groups refused to participate in the GHF system, saying it violates humanitarian principles.
They warned that it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation, a violation of international law.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the UN and other aid groups have conducted massive operations distributing food, medicine, and other supplies to wherever Palestinians are located.
Although Israel said GHF will replace that network, the past week has allowed a trickle of aid to enter Gaza for the UN to distribute.
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