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WASHINGTON

The White House said Tuesday it is reviewing reports of civilian casualties at a Gaza aid distribution site after officials said dozens were killed and injured.

"The administration is aware of those reports, and we are currently looking into the veracity of them. Because, unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don't take the word of Hamas with total truth. We like to look into it when they speak," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Hamas said Israeli forces opened fire early Tuesday on civilians awaiting humanitarian aid at a distribution point in Rafah in southern Gaza, leaving 27 dead and more than 90 injured.

The group appealed to the UN to intervene to stop the “killing mechanism” and to open humanitarian corridors under international oversight, without Israeli control.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the killings.

"We are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza," said Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. "The secretary-general condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza. It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking, and in several instances losing, their lives to get food."��

Israel has pursued a devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing nearly 54,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, following a Hamas-led cross-border raid that killed less than 1,200 people. Amid the offensive, aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million people.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.