At least 20 people were killed Wednesday morning, after a stabbing attack sparked a stampede outside of a humanitarian aid distribution center in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to initial reports, one person was stabbed to death outside of an aid distribution center in Khan Younis, while 19 more were trampled to death.

The American-based relief group which operates the aid center, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accused Hamas terrorists of intentionally instigating the stampede.

“We are heartbroken to confirm that 20 people died this morning in a tragic incident at SDS3 in Khan Younis,” the GHF announced.

The aid group, which was established as an alternative mechanism for distributing aid in Gaza to prevent Hamas from seizing incoming goods, blamed the stampede on “agitators in the crowd,” linking the incident to Hamas.

During the incident, gunmen were spotted in the crowd, GHF said, and an American citizen was threatened.

“We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas – deliberately fomented the unrest. For the first time since operations began, GHF personnel identified multiple firearms in the crowd, one of which was confiscated.”

“An American worker was also threatened with a firearm by a member of the crowd during the incident.”

The GHF has in the past accused Hamas of threatening to use violence against the group and Gazans seeking aid at GHF distribution sites.

The organization claimed that over the past few days, Gazans have been targeted with misinformation spread on social media regarding GHF operations, leading to desperate crowds showing up to closed aid centers.

False messages about aid site openings, including at SDS4 (Wadi Gaza) and the long-closed SDS1 (Tal Sultan), have circulated widely on Telegram and other platforms, fueling confusion, driving crowds to closed sites, and inciting disorder.”

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