At least 27 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday after Israeli soldiers opened fire near an aid distribution hub in Rafah, according to officials in Gaza as well as the Red Cross.
It marks the third deadly incident in three days around the Rafah aid hub run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), a private group backed by Israel and the U.S. that was established last month to replace U.N. agencies and other aid organizations.
A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said its Rafah field hospital received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.
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The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on X that it is “aware of reports regarding casualties, and the details of the incident are being looked into.”
“Troops identified several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated routes," the IDF said. "The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near individual suspects.”
In a statement to TIME relating to an earlier incident on Monday in which at least three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire near a GHF aid hub in Rafah, the IDF said its troops had similarly fired “warning shots…approximately one kilometer away from the humanitarian aid distribution site toward several suspects who advanced toward the troops and posed a threat to them.” The IDF added that it was looking into the incident.
TIME could not independently verify the reports from southern Gaza.
The U.N. and other aid agencies have criticised the new aid distribution system, saying it does not address the mounting hunger crisis in Gaza and allows Israel to use aid as a weapon.
“Palestinians have been presented with the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism,” U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said Tuesday.
Türk called for a “prompt and impartial investigation.” “Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law, and a war crime,” he added.
Israel maintains that the new aid distribution system prevents Hamas from stealing aid. However, both the U.N. and World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain have stated that there is no evidence to suggest the group is diverting humanitarian supplies.
The head of GHF, Jake Wood, resigned on May 25 saying it would not be able to work in a way that met “humanitarian principles.” GHF began operations the following day.
On Sunday, June 1, at least 31 Palestinians were killed and nearly 170 injured near the GHF distribution site in Rafah, Gaza’s health ministry said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement its field hospital in Rafah received a “mass casualty influx” and that the majority had sustained shrapnel and gunshot wounds.
“Once again, desperate hungry civilians get killed & injured while trying to reach aid. It should be delivered to them safely & with dignity,” ICRC spokesperson Hisham Mhanna said in a post on X.