A “mass casualty inflow” of individuals, many with gunshot or shrapnel wounds, was acquired at a Purple Cross area hospital in southern Gaza, the organisation stated, following disputed stories about an incident close to an assist distribution centre in Rafah.
The Worldwide Committee of the Purple Cross (ICRC) stated 21 individuals had been “declared lifeless upon arrival” whereas ladies and kids had been amongst 179 circumstances.
The organisation’s assertion got here after the Hamas-run civil defence company in Gaza stated a minimum of 31 individuals had been killed and plenty of extra wounded within the incident, which it blamed on “Israeli gunfire” focusing on civilians.
However the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) stated findings from an preliminary inquiry confirmed its forces had not fired at individuals whereas they had been close to or inside the assist centre.
The IDF additionally launched drone footage it stated confirmed armed and masked males throwing stones and taking pictures at civilians whereas they had been accumulating assist within the close by metropolis of Khan Younis. The BBC couldn’t instantly confirm the footage.
Israel doesn’t permit worldwide information organisations, together with the BBC, into Gaza, making verifying what is going on within the territory tough.
The group that runs the help distribution centre, the Gaza Humanitarian Basis (GHF), additionally denied the claims of accidents and casualties at its web site and stated they’d been unfold by Hamas.
As of Sunday night, the scenario on the bottom remained unclear.
In its assertion, the ICRC stated the “Purple Cross Discipline Hospital in Rafah acquired a mass casualty inflow of 179 circumstances, together with ladies and kids” early within the morning on Sunday.
It stated “the bulk suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds”, and “twenty-one sufferers had been declared lifeless upon arrival”. It’s unclear if the variety of individuals killed reported by the ICRC is separate to the Hamas well being ministry’s stories.
“All sufferers stated they’d been making an attempt to succeed in an assist distribution web site,” the ICRC stated.
The ICRC stated it was the “highest variety of weapon-wounded in a single incident because the institution of the sphere hospital over a yr in the past”, and that it “far surpassed” the capability of the 60-bed facility.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stated in a press release that it had additionally responded to the “mass casualty” incident, and that the blood financial institution at Nasser hospital, the place the injured had been handled, was nearly empty, with medical employees donating blood themselves to assist the injured.
Claire Manera, the organisation’s emergency co-ordinator, stated that the incident had “proven as soon as once more that this new system of assist supply is dehumanising, harmful and severely ineffective”.
The IDF stated in a press release: “In current hours, false stories have been unfold, together with severe allegations in opposition to the IDF relating to hearth towards Gazan residents within the space of the humanitarian assist distribution web site within the Gaza Strip.
“Findings from an preliminary inquiry point out that the IDF didn’t hearth at civilians whereas they had been close to or inside the humanitarian assist distribution web site and that stories to this impact are false,” it added.
MSF stated a minimum of two sufferers informed them they and others had been shot whereas making an attempt to get assist. MSF communications officer Nour Alsaqa stated in a press release that as MSF employees had been treating sufferers, in addition they “acquired affirmation {that a} colleague’s brother had been killed whereas making an attempt to gather assist from the centre”.
One other incident was stated to have occurred close to a separate assist centre within the Netzarim Hall in central Gaza, with the Palestinian Purple Crescent reporting 14 injured.
The BBC was contacted by medical doctors on the Nasser hospital who stated they’d acquired about 200 individuals with accidents brought on by bullets or shrapnel.
Native journalists and activists shared footage of our bodies and wounded individuals being transported on donkey carts to the Purple Cross area hospital within the al-Mawasi space.
The BBC has examined footage of our bodies being carried on carts and at the back of lorries to Nasser Hospital.
Gaza’s well being ministry stated greater than 200 circumstances had arrived at hospitals, together with 31 lifeless.
Seventy-nine of the injured had been delivered to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, based on the emergency division, medical employees from British charity Medical Support for Palestinians reported.
These killed and injured “had been primarily struck by reside gunfire, with many victims sustaining direct pictures to the top or chest”, the charity’s employees stated.
Victoria Rose, a British surgeon who has been working at Nasser Hospital, recorded a video mid-morning through which she motions to the beds with sufferers behind her and says “all of the bays are full they usually’re all gunshot wounds”.
The GHF, which distributes assist at these websites, denied any incident occurred close to its distribution centres.
An IDF soldier in Rafah contacted the BBC to say that Israeli troopers did hearth close to the gang, however not at them, and that no-one was hit.
Mohammed Ghareeb, a journalist in Rafah, informed the BBC that Palestinians had gathered close to the help centre run by the GHF when Israeli tanks approached and opened hearth on the gang.
Mr Ghareeb stated the gang of Palestinians had been close to Al-Alam roundabout round 04:30 native time (02:30 BST), near the help centre run by GHF, shortly earlier than Israeli tanks appeared and opened hearth.
“The lifeless and wounded lay on the bottom for a very long time,” he stated.
“Rescue crews couldn’t entry the realm, which is underneath Israeli management. This compelled residents to make use of donkey carts to move victims to the sphere hospital.”
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza’s predominant emergency service the Civil Defence, informed AFP information company that greater than 100 individuals had been wounded “because of gunfire from Israeli autos in direction of hundreds of residents”.
The incidents underscore the dire humanitarian circumstances in Rafah, the place current Israeli navy operations have severely restricted entry to help and emergency companies.
On Saturday, crowds of civilians rushed assist vans into Gaza, the World Meals Programme stated, as starvation and desperation created chaotic scenes.
The Gaza Humanitarian Basis is a brand new US and Israeli-backed organisation that has been distributing meals at designated websites throughout Gaza. Israel arrange the plan after accusing Hamas of stealing assist, which the group denies.
The GHF stated it had distributed 4.7 million meals this week, which the BBC has not been capable of independently confirm.
A navy marketing campaign was launched by Israel in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross-border assault on 7 October 2023, through which about 1,200 individuals had been killed and 251 others had been taken hostage.
Not less than 54,418 individuals have been killed in Gaza through the battle, based on the territory’s well being ministry.
