New analysis in a report from CNN strongly suggests Israel’s military opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food and other supplies, killing as many as 31 people. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had contended the incident “simply didn’t happen.”
Israeli officials and the White House strongly criticized American and British news organizations for reporting that IDF soldiers attacked people outside an aid distribution center in Rafah, Gaza, on Sunday, June 1. A White House spokeswoman said journalists parroted propaganda from the terrorist group Hamas.
However, CNN cited 17 eyewitnesses, munitions experts and video from the scene in reporting that Israeli troops apparently sprayed throngs of desperate Palestinians with “sporadic” machine-gun fire.
‘Fresh light’ on controversial incident
The incident began before dawn on Sunday as an American-based aid organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, prepared to distribute materials near Gaza’s border with Egypt. The foundation posted on social media that Israeli troops would be patrolling the area.
Food has been in short supply in Gaza since Israel began a blockade that prevented any aid shipments from entering the territory for 11 weeks. The World Health Organization said Gaza is on the verge of famine.
CNN said thousands of Palestinians were approaching the distribution site when Israeli troops appeared to open fire about half a mile away.
The network aired a video posted on TikTok by a 30-year-old Palestinian, Ameen Khalifa, showing people dropping to the ground and seeking cover amid a barrage of gunfire. Khalifa was reportedly shot in that incident. Two days later, he was killed when he tried to reach the distribution site again.
CNN quoted an engineering professor who said the gunfire came at a rate of 15 to 16 shots per second. The network also spoke to a former U.S. Army ordnance expert who said the rate of fire was consistent with the FN MAG machine guns that are mounted on Israeli tanks. That expert said the rate of fire was not consistent with the weapons typically used by Hamas.
Moreover, munitions experts told CNN that bullets removed from people wounded in the episode were the same type that have been supplied to the Israeli military.
“None of the videos definitely show who fired shots outside of the aid camp,” CNN reported. “However, CNN’s review of audiovisual material sheds fresh light on how the pursuit of aid turned chaotic and then dangerous, on the actions of Israeli forces and (on) the consequences of the new aid mechanism, which has been mired in controversy.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which entered the territory with the Israeli government’s permission, briefly paused its operations earlier during the week of June 2. But on Thursday, June 5, it resumed aid distribution at two locations in southern Gaza.
‘Difficult to describe’
Videos from the scene showed numerous bodies strewn across the sandy soil. Bystanders had covered the faces of people who died of head wounds.
Gaza’s health ministry, which is operated by Hamas, said 31 people died Sunday. It also said another 200 people were wounded. Israeli officials have alleged that the ministry inflated the numbers.
However, the International Committee of the Red Cross said its personnel observed “the highest number of weapon-wounded in a single incident” since it opened a field hospital in the area in 2024, according to CNN.
Another nearby hospital said it also treated an influx of wounded people after the incident.
“It’s difficult to describe what we saw with the young and the old,” Dr. Ahmad Abou-Sweid told CNN. “There was severe injuries to the head, severe injuries to the lung. There was a heavy proportion of head-targeted injuries from bullet wounds.”
‘It simply didn’t happen’
Israeli officials deny responsibility, although they have acknowledged that troops have fired “warning shots” to control unruly crowds at the aid distribution site.
“This week it was claimed that the IDF fired at civilians in an aid distribution area,” Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, a military spokesman, said during a press conference. “This report is entirely false and echoes the propaganda of the terrorist organization Hamas.”
He added, “Regarding the incident on Sunday, it simply didn’t happen.”
In a statement, the military said its initial investigation found that its soldiers “did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and … reports to this effect are false.”
‘Misrepresentations and untruths’
At the White House during the week of June 2, press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized news coverage of the episode.
“Unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don’t take the word of Hamas with total truth,” Leavitt said. “We like to look into it when they speak – unlike the BBC, who had multiple headlines they wrote: ‘Israeli tank kills 26,’ ‘Israeli tank kills 21,’ ‘Israeli gunfire kills 31,’ ‘Red Cross says 21 people were killed in an aid incident’ – and then, oh, wait, they had to correct and take down their entire story, saying we reviewed the footage and couldn’t find any evidence of anything.”
The BBC, however, pushed back on Thursday, calling Leavitt’s statement “a mix of misrepresentations and untruths.”
The network said it continually updated its coverage on Sunday, “as is standard on a breaking news story.” The BBC also listed its sources, including the Red Cross, an independent organization working in the region.
Additionally, the network said it never retracted any coverage as Leavitt claimed.
