The Gaza Humanitarian Fund accused the Hamas militant group of fomenting unrest in the crowd leading to a “dangerous surge” though it provided no evidence to support the claim.

At least 20 people were killed in a crowd crush at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial Israeli- and US-backed organization said Wednesday, the first time it has acknowledged deaths at one of its sites.

A crush at an aid centre in southern Gaza killed at least 20 people on Wednesday, with the site's operator blaming "agitators" within the crowd and the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency attributing the panic to Israeli gunfire.