US-backed aid group says Hamas killed five Palestinian staff in bus attack

The new group backed by Israel and the US for aid distribution in Gaza says Hamas attacked a bus transporting some of its Palestinian workers, killing at least five people.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the attack happened on Wednesday night as the bus carrying more than two-dozen workers travelled to a distribution centre in southern Gaza, and that it came after days of threats from Hamas.

The BBC cannot independently verify the statement, and Hamas has not commented but it previously denied it had threatened the foundation’s staff.

The system started operating on 26 May, to bypass the United Nations (UN) and other established organisations to distribute aid in Gaza.

Since then, its work has been marred by controversy and violence, with deadly incidents happening near its hubs almost every day.

The UN, which has refused to co-operate with the system, and aid organisations say it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

On Wednesday, local doctors said dozens more Palestinians were killed or injured by Israeli soldiers as they tried to access food at the foundation’s distribution centres.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the attack followed days of threats from Hamas – and that they feared some workers had been “taken hostage”.

“We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,” it said in a statement.

The Israeli military did not immediately corroborate the allegation, but shared part of the GHF’s statement, adding: “Hamas will stop at nothing to maintain control and prevent the effective delivery of aid”.

On Saturday, the GHF accused Hamas of making threats that “made it impossible” to operate in Gaza. Hamas denied this and said the GHF operation had “utterly failed on all levels”.

The GHF’s mechanism has been criticised as insufficient, as a limited amount of supplies is being handed out, and inhumane, as it requires people to travel to crowded distribution hubs, at great risk.

Almost every day since it began operating, there have been deadly shootings near one or other of the four centres it has opened, by Israeli soldiers and armed Palestinians.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 200 people have been killed and nearly 2,000 others injured while trying to reach areas designated for aid distribution during that time.

On Wednesday, at least 25 people were killed near a GHF convoy in Gaza’s Netzarim corridor, according to two hospitals in Gaza City.

The GHF had earlier said that 43,000 food parcels were handed out “without incident” across Gaza.

The US and Israel say delivering aid through the GHF will prevent it being stolen by Hamas. The UN says this is not a widespread issue, while Hamas denies doing it.