The GHF’s statement did not specify what evidence it gathered to support its belief, though it did note the group’s personnel “identified multiple firearms in the crowd.”

It is the group’s “current understanding” that 19 of the victims were stampeded amid the chaos, while another was fatally stabbed.

The Gaza Health Ministry, which is operated by Hamas, claimed that tear gas was fired into the crowd, prompting the chaos, and said 21 people were killed. The discrepancy in the death toll is unexplained at this point.

The aid group denied the claim, telling the New York Times it is “completely false” that officials shot tear gas into the crowd.

The Gaza Humanitarian Fund also noted a developing pattern of false messages about aid openings circulating widely on Telegram and other platforms, leading to confusion.

Many Palestinians have to walk for miles to reach the aid distribution sites.

A United Nations official said this week that it had recorded 875 people who have been killed trying to get food “in recent weeks,” but did not specify an exact time frame.

Among those killed, 674 died “in the vicinity of GHF sites,” while the remaining 201 victims died while looking for aid “on the routes of aid convoys or near aid convoys,” Thameen al Kheetan, a spokesman for the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner, said Tuesday.

The GHF began leading the humanitarian efforts in Gaza this spring as Israel’s refusal to allow aid into the besieged strip garnered significant international criticism. The Israelis said they decided to block humanitarian aid into Gaza as a means to further squeeze Hamas into surrendering.

There have been several instances of violence at the distribution sites. The GHF said earlier this week it has distributed more than 76 million meals to Palestinians since it began the effort in May.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the terrorist group carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which the group killed roughly 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others. Hamas still holds about 50 of those hostages, about 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. They have been held hostage for 21 months.

ISRAEL PUMMELS DAMASCUS AS SECTARIAN FIGHTING ESCALATES IN COUNTRY’S SOUTH

Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas has devastated the entire Gaza Strip and the terrorist group that previously governed the enclave. U.S. officials have described it as “uninhabitable,” and there have been limited public details about a reconstruction plan.

More than 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, a tally that includes civilians and combatants. Israeli officials have acknowledged that about half of the deaths were civilians.