UN chief says it's 'unacceptable' that Palestinians are having to 'risk their lives for food'
At least 31 people were killed yesterday near an aid distribution centre in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Monday 2 June 2025 13:47, UK
The head of the UN says he is "appalled" by reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday.
Secretary general Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation, and said: "It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food."
At least 31 people were killed yesterday near an aid distribution centre in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
The intervention by Mr Guterres came as 14 people were killed in an Israeli strike, mostly women and children, on Monday.
Meanwhile, a funeral has been held for Gaza doctor who lost nine children in an Israeli missile strike on their home and later died of his injuries.
Concerns over safety of aid centres
Witnesses said the aid centre deaths came after Israeli forces opened fire at a roundabout near a hub for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial new aid organisation backed by Israel and the US.
However, Palestinian and Hamas-linked media have attributed the deaths it has reported on to an Israeli airstrike.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said "false reports have been spread".
It said in a statement on Sunday: "Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false."
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Fresh deaths as Israel continues war
On Monday, the Shifa and al Ahli hospitals in Gaza confirmed that 14 people had died in an Israeli strike in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The hospitals said five women and seven children were among those killed.
The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
Israel, which says it does not target civilians, has vowed to destroy Hamas and says it will maintain control of Gaza indefinitely and facilitate what it refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population.
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Palestinians mourn death of Gaza doctor
On Sunday, dozens of Palestinians marched at the funeral of doctor Hamdi al Najja, who was critically injured late last month in an Israeli airstrike that killed all but one of his 10 children. He died late on Saturday.
The Israeli military confirmed it conducted an air strike on Khan Younis that day, but said it was targeting suspects in a structure that was close to Israeli soldiers.
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It said it was looking into claims that "uninvolved civilians" were killed, it said, adding that the military had evacuated civilians from the area before the operation began.
The oldest of their children was only 12 years old, according to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gaza's health ministry.