Palestinian rescuers arrive in an ambulance to evacuate injured people after an Israeli drone reportedly opened fire on civilian gatherings near an aid distribution point not far from the so-called "Netzarim checkpoint", in the central Gaza Strip. AFP
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 near the aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah, with AFP photos showing civilians at the scene carting away bodies and medics at nearby hospitals reporting a deluge of gunshot wound victims.
"I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Guterres said in a statement, without assigning blame for the deaths.
"I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable."
The Israeli iccupation army, however, denied its troops had fired on civilians in or around the centre, and both it and the aid site's administrator accused Hamas of sowing false rumours.
Israel cooperates with the group running the site, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to introduce a new mechanism for distributing limited aid in Gaza to bypass the longstanding UN-led system.
The UN has declined to work with the group out of concerns about its neutrality, with aid agencies saying it appears designed to cater to Israeli military objectives, stating that it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to control who receives aid and forcing people to relocate to designated distribution sites—further risking mass displacement across the territory.
The disastrous start of food distribution in Gaza confirmed that the US-Israel plan is ineffective, and is being weaponized by Israel to forcibly displace Palestinians — part of what appears to be a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing, Doctors without Borders (MSF) said on Sunday.
'Killed right in front of me'
An eyewitness from the scene in Rafah, Sameh Hamuda, 33, had told AFP he was headed towards the aid site amid a crowd of other Palestinians when "quadcopter drones opened fire on the people, and tanks started shooting".
"Several people were killed right in front of me," he said.
Another witness, Abdullah Barbakh, 58, also told AFP, "The army opened fire from drones and tanks".
Despite the seen victims, GHF has alligned with Israel and denied that any deaths or injuries had taken place.
Israel has come under increasing international pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza following a more than two-month blockade on aid that was only recently eased.
The UN has warned that the entire population of the territory is facing the risk of famine.
UN experts say Israel again 'weaponising starvation' in Gaza.
'Points of contention'
Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and the return of captives.
After the two sides failed to agree on a new ceasefire US- Israeli backed proposal last week, Hamas said it was ready to "immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention".
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said he had told the army "To continue forward in Gaza, regardless of any negotiations".
Israel has intensified its genocidal war on the Palestinian territory since it broke the brief truce in March.
On Monday, Israel killed 14 people in a strike on a house in Gaza, "including six children and three women, in addition to more than 20 missing individuals still under the rubble," civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said.
"This house has been bombed before... and people were martyred previously," resident Mousa al-Bursh told AFP.
"The house primarily belongs to the Al-Bursh family, but it shelters many others, more than one family, and we don't know the number of victims inside."
Israel has killed at least 4,201 people in the territory since it resumed its attacks on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,470, mostly children and women.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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