The White House has said it is reviewing reports of civilian casualties at a Gaza aid distribution site, after officials and eyewitnesses said dozens of people were killed and injured.
"The administration is aware of those reports, and we are currently looking into the veracity of them. Because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don't take the word of Hamas with total truth. We like to look into it when they speak," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
According to local resources in Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire early Tuesday on civilians waiting for humanitarian aid at a distribution point in Rafah, southern Gaza, killing 27 and wounding more than 90.
The group called on the United Nations to intervene and stop the “killing mechanism”, demanding the opening of humanitarian corridors under international oversight, without Israeli control.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the reported killings.
"We are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza," said Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. "The Secretary-General condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza. It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking, and in several instances losing, their lives to get food."
Israel has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza since October 2023. Palestinians have recorded killings of more than 54,470 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Some 11,000 Palestinians are feared buried under rubble of annihilated homes, according to Palestine's official WAFA news agency.
Experts, however, contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Gaza authorities have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000.
Over the course of the genocide, Israel reduced most of the enclave to ruins and practically displaced all of its population.
Aid agencies continue to warn of imminent famine in the besieged enclave, home to more than two million people.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
