Palestinians search for items to salvage in the rubble of buildings destroyed a day earlier in Israeli strikes on Gaza City on Wednesday. — AFP NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters): At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in what the US-backed group said was a crowd surge instigated by armed agitators.
The GHF, which is supported by Israel, said 19 people were trampled and one fatally stabbed during the crush at one of its centres in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
"We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd - armed and affiliated with Hamas - deliberately fomented the unrest," GHF said in a statement.
There has been no immediate comment from Hamas.
Palestinian health officials told Reuters 21 people had died of suffocation at the site. One medic said lots of people had been crammed into a small space and had been crushed.
On Tuesday, the UN rights office in Geneva said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza - the majority of them close to GHF distribution points.
US President Donald Trump was set to meet with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Wednesday to discuss negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire deal, Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted on X.
Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since Jul 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the conflict.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said on Sunday that he was "hopeful" about the ceasefire negotiations underway in Qatar, a key mediator between the two sides.
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been working to secure an agreement, however, Israel and Hamas are divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.
Hamas official denies
progress in Gaza talks
A senior Hamas official on Wednesday rejected claims of progress in Gaza ceasefire talks, adding the Palestinian militant group had not received maps planning for Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.
"(Israel) has not yet delivered any new or revised maps regarding military withdrawals from the Gaza Strip," Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas political bureau, told AFP, accusing Israel of wanting to "prolong military control" in Gaza for the long term.
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