The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has accused the militant group Hamas of attacking a bus carrying its staff to an aid distribution center, resulting in at least five deaths and multiple injuries.
In a statement released Wednesday, the foundation said the incident occurred around 10 p.m. local time (1900 GMT), when a bus transporting over two dozen GHF team members was "brutally attacked" near the area west of Khan Younis. The group said it fears some passengers may have been taken hostage.
“All the victims were Palestinian aid workers,” GHF confirmed in an email to AFP. “These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others,” the group added, condemning the attack as a “heinous and deliberate” act.
GHF, an unofficially private aid initiative backed by Israel and supported by opaque funding, began operating on May 26. Its launch followed a complete Israeli cutoff of supplies into Gaza that lasted more than two months, prompting international warnings of mass famine.
While GHF claims to have distributed over seven million meals during its first week, its operations have faced strong criticism. The Israeli military has been accused of opening fire on civilians crowding GHF aid sites — allegations both Israel and the foundation, which relies on contracted US security, deny.
Major humanitarian organizations and the United Nations have declined to work with GHF, citing concerns that the initiative may be aligned with Israeli military objectives rather than impartial aid distribution.
