Twenty-six Palestinians have been killed and 150 injured in Israeli tank shelling and gunfire near an aid distribution centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, according to medics and local residents.
Mohammed Ghareeb, a local journalist in Rafah, told the BBC that thousands of Palestinians had gathered near a US-backed humanitarian aid distribution centre when Israeli tanks approached and opened fire on the crowd.
Local journalists and activists shared harrowing footage of bodies and wounded individuals being transported on donkey carts to the Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, as rescue teams were reportedly unable to reach the scene.
The BBC has contacted the IDF for a response.
Mr Ghareeb said the crowd of Palestinians had gathered near Al-Alam roundabout around 04:30 local time (02:30 BST), close to the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, shortly before Israeli tanks appeared and opened fire.
“The dead and wounded lay on the ground for a long time,” Mr Ghareeb said.
“Rescue crews could not access the area, which is under Israeli control. This forced residents to use donkey carts to transport victims to the field hospital.”
The Red Cross field hospital said 26 people had been killed and 150 injured.
Efforts were under way to transfer the casualties to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for further treatment, the doctor added.
Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency that more than 100 people were wounded “due to gunfire from Israeli vehicles towards thousands of citizens”.
The incident underscores the dire humanitarian conditions in Rafah, where recent Israeli military operations have severely limited access to aid and emergency services.
On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed aid trucks in Gaza, the World Food Programme has said, as hunger and desperation create chaotic scenes.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a new US and Israel-backed organisation that has been distributing food at designated sites across Gaza. Israel set up the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.
The GHF said it distributed two million meals this week, which the BBC has not been able to independently verify.
This comes as the US attempts to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas responded to the US ceasefire proposal by saying it is prepared to release 10 living Israeli hostages and 18 dead hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.
However, the group also repeated its demands for a permanent truce, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid. None of these are in the deal on the table.
Hamas said it had submitted its response to the US draft proposed by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East.
Witkoff said the proposal was “unacceptable and only takes us backward” and insisted the US deal was “the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days.”
