At least 26 Palestinians were reportedly killed and some 175 were wounded as they made their way to receive food in the Gaza Strip, according to officials from the Hamas-run health ministry and witnesses, but Israeli officials dispute these claims.

Witnesses said Israeli forces fired on crowds around 1,000 yards away from an aid site run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). A Palestinian journalist told the BBC that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near the aid site near Gaza’s southern city of Rafah when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.

The Israeli Defense Forces said it is “currently unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site,” adding that “the matter is still under review.”

“It is false and fabricated. All aid was distributed today without incident,” the GHF said. “No injuries or fatalities as noted in our daily update sent out earlier. We have heard that these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated.”

The GHF has denied previous accounts of chaos and gunfire around its sites, which are in Israeli military zones where independent access is limited.

ISRAEL HOSTAGE DEAL IN DOUBT AS HAMAS ADDS DEMANDS, US ENVOY CALLS TERMS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

In its statement, the foundation dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.”

The organization’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, with multiple witnesses having said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites. Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.

The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on the crowds. The Israeli military has said it fired warning shots in previous incidents.

As thousands of people headed toward the distribution site hours before dawn, Israeli forces ordered them to disperse and return later, witnesses said. When the crowds reached the Flag Roundabout, around 1,000 yards away, at around 3 a.m., the military opened fire, the witnesses said.

“There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones,” Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd, said.

Palestinians carry boxes and bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)

He said he observed at least 10 bodies with gunshot wounds and several other wounded people, including women. People used carts to carry the victims to the field hospital.

Another witness, Ibrahim Abu Saoud, gave a nearly identical account. Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene.

Mohammed Abu Teaima said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were on their way to the distribution site. He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene, while many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law.

“They opened heavy fire directly towards us,” he said.

HUCKABEE SLAMS FRENCH-BACKED PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD PUSH AT UN, SAYS US-ISRAEL ARE ‘INSEPARABLY’ LINKED

Smoke rises following an Israeli army bombardment in the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP)

Israel and the U.S., which also backs the foundation, say the new aid system seeks to prevent Hamas from taking away aid. Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion and the U.N. denies it has happened.

U.N. agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, arguing that it violates humanitarian principles since it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites.

The U.N. system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel recently slightly eased its total blockade of the territory. The groups say Israel’s restrictions, the breakdown of law and order and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Published on 01/06/2025 – 13:54 GMT+2•Updated
14:37

French authorities say two fans died after celebrations around the country for Paris Saint-Germain’s historic Champions League victory, European club football’s biggest prize.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party, according to the national police. And a man was killed in Paris when his scooter was hit by a car during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said. The circumstances of both deaths are being investigated.

French interior minister Bruno Retailleau commented in a post on social media on Saturday after the game:

“True PSG fans are getting excited about their team’s magnificent performance. Meanwhile, barbarians have taken to the streets of Paris to commit crimes and provoke law enforcement … It is unbearable that it is not possible to party without fearing the savagery of a minority of thugs who respect nothing.”

A police officer was accidentally hit by fireworks in northwest France and placed in an artificial coma because of grave eye injuries, the national police service said.

The interior ministry said 18 police officers in Paris were injured, along with three elsewhere in France, as were 192 people celebrating in the streets.

A total of 294 people were arrested by 2 am, though the celebrations were mostly peaceful apart from the descent into violence in some areas.

Celebrations to continue upon squad’s return to Paris

Meanwhile, the Paris Saint-Germain squad is returning from Munich to the French capital on Sunday to continue celebrating with tens of thousands of the team’s fans.

They are set to arrive in Paris at 4 pm on the club’s own Qatar Airways jet.

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