In what humanitarian officials are calling a deliberate massacre of aid workers, eight Palestinians employed by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) were killed and several others injured or abducted late Wednesday night after Hamas forces reportedly ambushed a humanitarian convoy headed to a food distribution center in southern Gaza.
According to a statement released by GHF, the attack occurred around 10:00 PM local time, as a bus carrying more than 20 Palestinian aid workers and international volunteers — including American humanitarians — made its way toward a GHF aid station west of Khan Yunis. The mission was part of an emergency operation to deliver life-saving food and supplies to civilians trapped by weeks of escalating violence and aid disruption. Despite the proven success of the GHF, organizations like the United Nations have worked to undermine their mission as they fear being replaced in the Strip.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says that 8 of its workers have been killed, others injured and there are fears some have been taken hostage.
— Nicole Lampert (@nicolelampert) June 12, 2025
It is believed this is the work of Hamas which has previously made threats to GHF workers.
This incident happened last night but the… pic.twitter.com/GHFY4yr7vK
Terror and Treachery: GHF Directly Blames Hamas for Targeting Its Workers
Despite Hamas’s claim that the casualties were affiliated with the so-called Abu Shabab militia — a group rumored to have Israeli backing in Gaza — GHF dismissed the accusation as a cynical smear meant to justify the targeting of humanitarian efforts. Abu Shabab itself issued a rare public denial, insisting that the victims had no connection to the organization and accusing Hamas of spreading falsehoods to avoid public backlash.
Adding to the chaos, Abu Shabab issued its own statement to Gaza’s residents, openly naming Hamas operatives allegedly responsible for the killings and calling on bereaved families to come forward for evidence.
“The blood of your sons who worked for an American humanitarian mission was spilled in Khan Yunis,” the group stated. “Six Hamas members — whose names we are ready to disclose — carried out this atrocity.”
GHF officials emphasized that this attack did not come as a surprise, claiming they had faced days of mounting threats from Hamas against both its workers and the desperate civilians who lined up to receive food and medicine. Despite these threats, no action or condemnation ever came from international humanitarian bodies or governing agencies in Gaza. Not only was Hamas threatening them, but the agency was facing enormous pressure from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which has proven to have helped Hamas. UNRWA officials have smeared GHF efforts despite the agency's success at delivering millions of meals to needy Gazans while preventing the theft of the aid by Hamas, which under UNRWA's guidance has stolen much of the aid that has come in since the start of the war and sold it in order to pay for salaries and weapons.
“This did not happen in a vacuum,” the GHF statement continued. “For days, Hamas issued public threats to our staff and the innocent civilians we serve. Last night, they carried those threats out. We hold Hamas fully responsible.”
International Community Urged to Condemn Hamas ‘War on Humanitarianism’
Calling the ambush an “attack on humanity itself,” GHF is now urging the international community, NGOs, and human rights organizations to immediately and unequivocally condemn Hamas for targeting unarmed aid workers and using terror to block the delivery of food, medicine, and shelter to civilians.
“This is not just an act of war — it is a war crime. The world must say so loudly and without equivocation.”
Despite the horror of the night’s events, GHF vowed that it will not abandon the people of Gaza.
The perverse incentives of the int’l community will punish the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for having its staff murdered and reward Hamas for doing the murdering.
— David May (@DavidSamuelMay) June 11, 2025
Hamas had threatened the GHF for weeks, and the world called to restore the aid channels Hamas was stealing from. pic.twitter.com/HvQUaNHrui
“We will not be silenced or stopped. Our mission is more urgent than ever.”
An Aid Mission Under Siege
The Gaza Humanitarian Fund is an American-Israeli initiative launched in response to global concerns about famine and the politicization of aid distribution in the Gaza Strip. Since its entry into Gaza just last month, the project has faced sabotage, looting, propaganda campaigns, and now, outright bloodshed. It has also faced condemnation from anti-Israel activists like Grea Thunberg who failed to acknowledge the success GHF has had in bringing aid to the people, portraying the 100KG of flour that was on her flotilla boat as the only food Gazans will see. UN officials have also been complicit in undermining GHF efforts, insisting they and only they are the ones who could save Gaza from starvation.
Urgent Statement from The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation:
— Rev. Johnnie Moore ن (@JohnnieM) June 12, 2025
Tonight, at approximately 10 p.m. Gaza time, a bus carrying more than two-dozen members of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation team, local Palestinians working side-by-side with the U.S. GHF team to deliver critical aid, were… pic.twitter.com/Hab9B2rdj1
On its very first day of operation, a GHF aid center in Rafah was stormed by thousands, with aid supplies ransacked within hours. The chaos forced the fund to suspend activity temporarily, and since then, distribution efforts have been dogged by hostile interference. There have even been allegations of Israeli fire in aid zones, as well as repeated attempts by Hamas to block or redirect supplies for its own use.
Late Wednesday night, as news of the ambush spread, Palestinian sources reported ten more deaths and over 120 injuries during a separate aid distribution event on Salah al-Din Street, where panicked crowds were met with gunfire while waiting in line.
