### UN Calls for Investigation into Deadly Incident Near Gaza Aid Centre

The UN Secretary-General has urged for an independent investigation following the deaths of Palestinians near an aid distribution centre in Gaza. This appeal comes amidst conflicting reports of Israeli forces possibly opening fire on civilians awaiting aid in Rafah on Sunday.

Eyewitnesses have reported being shot at while they waited for food at a distribution centre operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by the US and Israel. The Red Cross stated that its Rafah hospital received 179 casualties, with 21 individuals confirmed dead. Contrasting these figures, the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported a death toll of 31.

The Israeli military has firmly denied these allegations, stating that their troops did not fire at civilians near the aid site, dismissing such reports as false. Supporting this, the GHF labelled the reports as "outright fabrications" and stated that they had seen no evidence of an attack at or near their facility.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his concern in a statement, describing the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid as "appalling." He called for "an immediate and independent investigation into these events" and emphasized the need for accountability.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded sternly to Guterres' comments, calling them a "disgrace" and critiquing his failure to mention Hamas. Concurrently, UN human rights chief Volker Türk spoke to the BBC, condemning the current method of aid delivery as "unacceptable" and "dehumanising."

Witness accounts from the scene paint a grim picture. Mohammed Ghareeb, a journalist in Rafah, recounted how a crowd had gathered around al-Alam roundabout near the GHF aid centre early on Sunday morning, at which point Israeli tanks reportedly opened fire. The Civil Defence agency echoed these accounts, noting the difficulty in accessing the injured due to Israeli control of the area; survivors had to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital.

In contrast, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) asserted that their troops did not engage civilians near the aid site. They released drone footage purportedly showing armed men firing at civilians en route to collect aid, though the location and timing of the footage could not be verified. An IDF official later explained that soldiers had fired warning shots to deter a group of suspects about a kilometre from the GHF site.

The GHF doubled down on its position the following day, describing the reports as "the most egregious in terms of outright fabrications and misinformation." US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, criticised major news outlets for "reckless and irresponsible reporting," supporting the stance that there were no injuries or fatalities linked to the aid centre operations.