A stampede outside an aid distribution center in southern Gaza killed at least 20 people who were waiting for food on Wednesday, according to Palestinian and aid officials, the latest in a string of deadly episodes around sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The deaths bring the number of people killed while trying to get food from the organization to about 700 since late May, according to data provided this week by the United Nations.
There were conflicting reports about the melee, which started on Wednesday morning on the outskirts of Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza.
The Gaza Health Ministry said tear gas was fired into a crowd gathered at the distribution site, causing a stampede. It said 21 people were killed, 15 of whom suffocated.
The aid organization said that 20 people were killed after armed agitators among a gathering crowd at its Khan Younis distribution site created a “chaotic and dangerous surge.”
It was not immediately possible to explain the discrepancy in the death toll.