Chaotic scenes erupted at a newly opened US-backed aid distribution centre near Rafah in southern Gaza this week, as thousands of desperate civilians swarmed the site in search of food.
Footage widely circulated on social media shows crowds of Palestinians climbing over one another to reach boxes of aid at one of two centres set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which aims to feed around one million people by the end of this week.
The aid boxes, containing essentials such as rice, dried beans, flour, oil, salt, and canned vegetables, were shown piled high at the site. According to a GHF statement, "Approximately 8,000 food boxes have been distributed so far. Each box feeds 5.5 people for 3.5 days, totaling 462,000 meals.”
While distribution began in an orderly manner, the situation rapidly descended into disorder as the crowds swelled. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) troops fired warning shots to disperse the masses. Rumours quickly spread on social media that shots were fired from a helicopter, claims the IDF firmly denied.
Israeli forces did not carry out "any aerial fire toward the humanitarian aid distribution centre,” the military said in a statement. A source confirmed to The Times of Israel that troops had only fired warning shots outside the compound, adding, "Control over the situation was established, food distribution operations are expected to continue as planned, and the safety of IDF troops was not compromised."
American security subcontractors managing the site also withdrew briefly, allowing what GHF called “a small number” of civilians to collect food in a safer manner.
“The needs on the ground are great. At one moment in the late afternoon, the volume of people at the SDS [distribution center] was such that the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Gazans to take aid safely and dissipate,” the foundation said in a statement, quoted by the New York Post.
GHF has faced backlash from other humanitarian organisations, including criticism over its management of the new centres. Jose Andrew, founder of the Emirati-backed World Central Kitchen (WCK), accused the foundation of failing those it was meant to help.
“The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has left Palestinians without food. The people that created it are selfish,” Andrew said on X. WCK has refused to work with GHF, whose CEO stepped down earlier this week, citing mounting Israeli restrictions.
Operations at the Rafah centre have reportedly returned to normal since the incident, the foundation has claimed.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has condemned the scenes as “heartbreaking.”
“We have been watching the video coming out of Gaza around one of the distribution points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. And frankly, these videos, these images, are heartbreaking to say the least,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
While Israel continues to permit UN aid into Gaza, Dujarric highlighted that numerous challenges persist. Israel, in turn, has accused the UN of failing to collect hundreds of aid trucks sitting at the border.
“In the past few days, the UN has avoided fulfilling its role and instead continues to spread false and incorrect information regarding civilian distress,” said Maj Gen Ghassan Alian, head of Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). Over 400 truckloads of aid are reportedly still waiting to be picked up.
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