At least 20 Palestinians were killed in a crush at a US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) food distribution site in southern Gaza.

Witnesses and health officials say GHF guards used teargas or pepper spray on the crowd, causing panic and suffocation.

The incident marks the first such deaths at a GHF-run site, amid broader starvation in Gaza where Israeli attacks have killed over 58,000 people, The Guardian has reported.

Critics, including US Senator Chris Van Hollen, condemned US funding for GHF, calling it an unqualified, opaque group replacing established aid agencies with armed security while civilians die trying to access food.

Written by B.C. Begley