Gaza aid point crush kills 20 people

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, July 17 (AFP): A crush at an aid centre in southern Gaza killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, with the site's operator blaming "agitators" within the crowd and the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency attributing the panic to Israeli gunfire.

It was the first time that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the United States and Israel, acknowledged deaths at one of its distribution sites after weeks of chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Palestinians being killed nearby while waiting to collect rations.

AFP footage showed lifeless bodies taken to a nearby hospital, in the city of Khan Yunis, with some placed on the floor and others on already-bloodied beds.

Abdullah Alian, a witness, said that mayhem unfolded as the crowd of aid-seekers was hit with stun grenades and pepper spray.

"When they saw people starting to die on the ground and people on top of each other suffocating, they opened the gate and people started climbing on top of each other."

It was not clear whether he was referring to US contractors securing GHF sites, Israeli forces or another party.