At least 21 Palestinians have been killed in the latest carnage at the GHF aid distribution centre in southern Gaza, with most of the victims reported to have died in a stampede.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health has disputed the allegation from the controversial United States- and Israel-backed organisation that armed agitators were responsible for the incident on Wednesday morning at the site in Khan Younis.

In an earlier statement, the GHF had said 19 victims were trampled and another was stabbed “amid a chaotic and dangerous surge”.

Without providing any evidence, it said the stampede had been provoked by “elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas”.

The statement also claimed that GHF staff saw multiple weapons in the crowd and that one of its US contractors was threatened with a gun.

However, Palestinian witnesses and authorities have vehemently contested the GHF’s version of events.

One survivor told Al Jazeera, “We were running like everyone else. We got to the gate and realized that it was closed, thousands of people were there. The Americans fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse them which caused a stampede and many people died while being crushed by the crowd”.

Gaza’s Health Ministry released a statement saying 21 Palestinians had been killed at the GHF site on Wednesday. It noted that 15 of the victims died as a result of a stampede and suffocation after tear gas was fired at crowds of aid seekers.

“️For the first time, deaths have been recorded due to suffocation and the intense stampede of citizens at aid distribution centres,” the ministry added.

Meanwhile, a medical source at Nasser Hospital told the AFP news agency that the desperate and starving victims had been trying to receive food, but the main gate to the distribution centre had been closed.