The Gaza humanitarian foundation (GHF), which claimed to have begun delivering large-scale aid to Palestinians in Gaza, has come under scrutiny after announcing it had launched operations this week.
On Tuesday, the group said it distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals. The aid comes after an almost three-month Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
GHF added that 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 AFP and Reuters news agencies reported that thousands of people had rushed the food distribution center in Rafah.
Military fired near aid distribution center
The Israeli news portal ynet reported that shots were fired from Israeli helicopters, and the Associated Press said Israeli tank and gunfire could be heard as large crowds of Palestinians tried to reach an aid center. There were initially no reports of injuries in the incident in the city of Rafah.
The Israeli military said soldiers fired warning shots in an area outside an aid distribution center, but did not carry out aerial fire toward the center itself.
GHF said "normal operations" resumed later on Tuesday. The group blamed "blockades imposed by Hamas" for hours of delays in distributing aid.
The Hamas-run media office said Israel's new efforts to distribute aid in Gaza had "failed miserably."
UN calls on Israel to reopen Gaza crossings to aid deliveries
UN chief Antonio Guterres's spokesman called images of thousands of people rushing the aid distribution site "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 video, these images, are heartbreaking to say the least," Stephane Dujarric said. "As the secretary-general noted last week, we and our partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound plan supported by Member States to get aid to desperate population."
The United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday criticized a US and Israel-backed humanitarian group operating in Gaza, saying its work is a distraction from what is urgently needed: the full reopening of aid crossings.
Critics say its political backing from the US and Israel, lack of transparency and bypassing of established UN aid systems raise serious questions about the organization's neutrality, operational legitimacy and ability to have an actual positive impact for people in desperate need of aid.
Jens Laerke, an OCHA spokesperson, said the organization does not support the aid model used by the GHF.
"We do not participate in this modality... It is a distraction from what is actually needed," Laerke told reporters in Geneva. He called for Israel to fully reopen all crossings and stop restricting the types of aid allowed through, describing the current vetting as "cherry-picked" and misaligned with humanitarian needs.
Israel has defended its system, saying it aims to prevent aid from falling into the hands of Hamas, which it accuses of diverting supplies. The director of the World Food Program on Monday said there was no evidence Hamas was seizing humanitarian aid.
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