Sebastian Usher
Middle East editor, reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Getty Images

Reports of heavy casualties from Israeli fire, along with videos of the dead and wounded being carried on donkey carts, began appearing early in the morning.

Palestinian sources in Rafah said the incident occurred as Palestinians were, once again, queuing ahead of one of the new aid distribution centres opening for the day.

One Palestinian who said he was there said that chaos broke out among the huge crowd and that Israeli forces opened fire as the situation got out of control. Hamas has said it shows that the new aid are death traps.

The Israel Defense Forces said initial findings show its forces "did not fire at civilians while they were near or within" the aid centre.

Earlier, the Israel and US backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation issued a strong statement of denial, saying the reports are false and fabricated, and asserted that its distribution of aid had gone ahead without incident.

An Israeli soldier in Rafah contacted the BBC to support this claim, saying that Israeli soldiers did fire near the crowd but not at them and that no one was hit.

Whatever did happen, it is clear that at least one medical facility, the Nasser hospital, received a large number of casualties, with a doctor telling the BBC that many had bullet wounds.

The incident has also raised more questions over the new mechanism for supplying aid to Gazans, backed by the US and Israel but rejected by UN agencies, who had been doing the job until now.

We're ending our live coverage now, but you can catch up on everything that's happened today in Gaza by reading our full report.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says initial findings show its forces "did not fire at civilians while they were near or within" the aid distribution site.

In a statement, it called reports suggesting otherwise “false” and urged the media to “be cautious" with information published by Hamas.

The IDF says it is still working with the US and the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to get aid to civilians.

Earlier, Gaza’s health ministry, run by Hamas, said at least 31 people were killed and more than 100 injured in an incident at the aid centre in Rafah, southern Gaza.

The Israeli military says it has killed Khalil Abd al-Nasser Muhammad Khatib, a Hamas cell commander in the al-Mawasi battalion, on Friday.

According to a statement on X, Khalil was involved in attacks on buildings where Israeli troops were operating, as well as an attack on an Israeli tank unit in the al-Mawasi area in January, which led to the deaths of 21 soldiers.

"Additionally, throughout the war, he was involved in and advanced numerous terror attacks against IDF troops," the statement adds.

Image source, EPA

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, says the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are operating in Gaza “with great force”.

“I instructed the IDF to continue forward against all targets, regardless of any negotiations, and to use every means necessary from the air, land, and sea to protect IDF soldiers and eliminate and crush the Hamas murderers,” he says in a post on X.

“Either Hamas releases the hostages, or it will be destroyed.”

Katz hasn’t directly addressed today’s reported incidents near the aid centres. Earlier, the IDF said it is “currently unaware of injuries caused by IDF fire within the Humanitarian Aid distribution site.”

Image source, Reuters

Philippe Lazzarini, head of Unrwa, says aid distribution in Gaza "has become a death trap".

He says aid deliveries and distribution must be large-scale and safe, and that in Gaza this can only be done through the UN, including Unrwa.

Israel, which has accused Hamas of stealing aid, has set up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with the US to distribute food at specific sites across Gaza. The group has said they have been delivering the food "without incident", but today's deaths and injuries have reportedly happened near these sites.

"The State of Israel must lift the siege and allow the UN safe and unhindered access to bring in aid and distribute it safely," he says in a post on X.

"With competing narratives and disinformation campaigns in full gear, international media must be allowed into Gaza to independently report on the ongoing atrocities including this morning’s heinous crime," he adds.

• As a reminder: Israel doesn't allow independent access to Gaza, which limits the ability of international media to report on events in the strip

Image source, EPA

Today's developments follow Israel stepping up its military campaign in Gaza.

In mid-May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the launch of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots”, saying Israel would “take control” of the whole of Gaza.

The ground and air offensive that followed has resulted in hundreds of Palestinian deaths.

In the past 24 hours, 37 people were killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. The last hospital providing health services in North Gaza has stopped operating after the Israeli military ordered its immediate evacuation, the facility's director said.

The renewed military operation has been condemned by the leaders of France, the UK and Canada as “disproportionate”, but Netanyahu responded by telling them they were “on the wrong side of history”.

Latest Gaza incident raises further concerns over US-Israeli aid planpublished at 15:20 British Summer Time 1 June

15:20 BST 1 June

Sebastian Usher
Middle East editor, reporting from Jerusalem

It is still unclear what the situation is with regard to reports of incidents near aid distribution centres in Rafah and the Netzarim Corridor.

What seems certain is that there have again been a large number of casualties brought into hospitals in these areas, and we've had a number of fatalities.

We've heard from doctors at the Nasser hospital that they have received around 200 people with injuries caused by bullets or shrapnel.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which distributes aid at these locations, has denied reports that people were killed after Israeli tanks opened fire near their aid centre. The group says the reports are "fabricated".

We haven't had a particularly long comment from the Israeli army yet - they have said the incident is under review, and that they are unaware of any injuries caused by their fire.

One of my colleagues has been contacted by an IDF soldier in Rafah, who says that from what he has seen, the reports are not true.

But the issue around the new mechanism of distributing aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has again been put into question by these latest events. The foundation has said reports coming in over the last few days, since it became operational, have been false.

Image source, Palestinian ministry of health

Earlier we reported that the health ministry in Gaza, run by Hamas, had released a video of British surgeon Victoria Rose.

They have now shared two more videos of foreign doctors working in the area.

Australian doctor Ahmed Abu Sweid says there was a “mass casualty event” today.

He describes the hospital as overwhelmed, with medical supplies running out.

“These are all civilian casualties that were asked to go to an aid centre to collect food, and ended up presenting with gunshot wounds, shrapnel wounds,” he says. “Most of them are critical. Some of them arrived dead on arrival.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

In another video, British doctor Thomas Potokar says he’s visited Gaza 16 times in eight years, but “this is without any doubt the worst I’ve ever seen it by a significant degree.”

The doctor does not address the incident at the aid centre specifically, but says that alongside “constant bombardment”, people in Gaza are suffering from mass hunger, and malnutrition has meant wounds aren’t healing.

“80% of people we’re treating are women and children,” he adds.

In central and northern Gaza, we're seeing images of Israeli strikes.

Earlier today, the Israel Defense Forces said they are continuing their offensive against "terrorist" throughout the Gaza Strip.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Anadolu/Getty Images

Image source, Anadolu/Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile, outside Gaza, the foreign ministers of four Arab countries who had planned a landmark visit to the occupied West Bank this weekend have condemned Israel for blocking the trip.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said Israel’s decision shows “extremism and rejection of peace”, according to the Reuters news agency.

An Israeli official said the intended meeting was meant to discuss the promotion of a Palestinian state, something the current Israeli government rejects.

The UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), quoting the emergency department at Nasser Hospital, says mass casualties continue to arrive at the Nasser Medical Complex.

It says in an incident where "Israeli forces opened fire on civilians gathered to receive humanitarian aid", 79 people were injured and 23 people have been killed, "primarily struck by live gunfire".

Earlier, the Hamas-run health ministry reported that 31 people were killed this morning near an aid distribution centre.

We'll continue to bring you the latest updates as we get them.

Image source, Anadolu/Getty Images

Sebastian Usher
Middle East editor, reporting from Jerusalem

A number of sources in Rafah in southern Gaza have reported that Palestinians gathering near an aid distribution centre were killed or wounded in the early hours of this morning by what they say was Israeli tank fire.

Images have been circulating of the dead and wounded being taken on donkey carts to the nearest treatment centres.

A British surgeon in Gaza said there had been what he called a mass casualty incident. But the exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has denied there were injuries or fatalities at its distribution site - and it accuses Hamas of being behind the reports.

The incident comes hours after Hamas delivered a non-committal response to the latest US-backed ceasefire proposal - which made clear the distance between the two sides still remains too wide to bridge.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has just published its daily report on casualties in the Gaza Strip.

It says:

• 37 people have been killed, including five recovered bodies, and 136 people have been injured over the past 24 hours
• A number of people remain under the rubble and on the roads, unable to be reached
• The number of people killed in Gaza since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March has risen to 4,149.

• The total death toll in Gaza since Israel launched a military campaign in response to Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023 now stands at 54,418, with 124,190 people injured

Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, has condemned international silence towards "the massacres committed against the starving population" of Gaza.

Hospitals are facing miserable conditions in light of the acute shortage of medicines and medical consumables, al-Bursh said in a statement shared by the health ministry today.

He said Israel is "still preventing about 3,000 trucks carrying health supplies in the Egyptian city of Al-Arish from crossing to the Gaza Strip".

He also accused Israel of "deliberately spreading infectious diseases and epidemics by continuing to prevent the flow of medicines and vaccines" as well as "depriving the population of water security".

Palestinians have been returning to Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, following reports 31 people were killed after an Israeli tank opened fire near an aid distribution centre this morning.

The incident is said to have taken place in Rafah, which is slightly south of Khan Younis at the border of Egypt.

In the video we can see people travelling in large groups with cars, donkey carts, and on foot.

Image source, Palestinian Ministry of Health

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has shared a video, external of British surgeon Victoria Rose, who is in the emergency department at Nasser hospital, describing the aftermath of today's incident.

"We've had a shooting at the GHF aid distribution centre near Rafah," she says, adding: "It's absolute carnage here."

Rose says many injured people were taken from the site to local field hospitals.

"But we have had an extortionate amount of people come through the door," she says, adding locals quote figures between 100 and 200.

The injuries are all gunshot wounds, she adds.

It's still unclear what exactly happened at the aid distribution centre. As we've mentioned, our colleagues at BBC Verify are trying to establish the facts and we’ll bring you the latest information as soon as we get it.

The BBC has just received a response from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation following reports that dozens were killed after Israeli tanks opened fire near an aid centre in Rafah.

"It is false and fabricated. All aid was distributed today without incident," the GHF says, adding that there have been no injuries or fatalities.

"We have heard that these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated."

As we've mentioned, our colleagues at BBC Verify are trying to establish the facts and we'll bring you the latest information as soon as we get it.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has just given an update, saying 31 people were killed this morning at the aid distribution centre.

It says more than 200 people arrived at hospital, with dozens needing treatment for serious injuries.

In its latest update, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says its troops have "eliminated dozens of terrorists" and "dismantled approximately 100 terrorist infrastructure targets" in Khan Younis.

Israeli troops identified and struck "three terrorists transporting explosives", the IDF says.

They also "located and dismantled an underground terror tunnel route approximately 30 metres deep and 700 metres long" in the same area, it says.

Khan Younis is located in the south of the Gaza strip, just north of Rafah, where reports of today's incident at an aid distribution point have been coming from.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, or are in need of a quick recap, here's a summary of this morning's reports to bring you up to speed.

Early this morning - reports started coming out of Gaza that a number of people had been killed and many injured at an incident at an aid distribution centre near the southern city of Rafah.

What have Gaza's Hamas-run authorities said?

Israeli tanks opened fire on people, with more than 20 killed, according to rescuers and Gaza's Hamas-run authorities.

What has Israel said?

The Israeli military has said it is currently unaware of injuries caused by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fire at the aid site.

How many people have died?

The number of people reported as dead has varied between different sources, with rescuers claiming 26 people have been killed and 150 injured.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent says its teams have transported 23 fatalities from the aid distribution point in Rafah

BBC Verify

Our colleagues at BBC Verify have been examining footage showing people running and ducking, with apparent gunfire audible in the background.

They have authenticated two newly-published videos as being from the Salah al-Din road, just south of the recently opened aid distribution site in the Netzarim Corridor.

They'll continue to examine footage from the area and we'll bring you the latest updates and analysis as we get it.