GAZA CITY, July 16:
At least 51 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including 21 who died in a deadly stampede at an aid distribution site, health officials confirmed.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera that the tragedy unfolded at a Global Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) facility in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The stampede erupted amid chaotic aid distribution, with most victims trampled or suffocated, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry refuted GHF’s claim that armed Hamas affiliates triggered the panic. GHF also alleged a U.S. contractor was threatened at gunpoint and that weapons were visible in the crowd. However, local witnesses and Palestinian officials blamed tear gas for sparking the chaos among desperate civilians.
Earlier GHF reports stated 19 were trampled and one was stabbed, but the death toll has since risen to 21, with 15 confirmed dead from suffocation and crushing injuries.
The UN Human Rights Office warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis, noting that 10 children per day are losing limbs in the ongoing conflict. Since the war began, over 134,000 Palestinians, including more than 40,500 children, have been injured.
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