Witnesses described a scene of chaos as people seized food parcels and other aid. They also said Israeli troops stationed nearby had opened fire
Thousands of Palestinians have overrun an aid distribution site in Gaza set up by a controversial US and Israeli-backed group, a day after it began working there.
Videos showed crowds walking over torn-down fences and earth berms at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) compound in the southern city of Rafah.
The group said that at one point its team fell back because the numbers seeking aid were so great. The Israeli military said troops nearby fired warning shots.
The GHF, which uses armed American security contractors, aims to bypass the UN as the main supplier of aid in Gaza, where experts have warned of a looming famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade that was recently eased.
The UN said the videos from Rafah were “heartbreaking” and that it had a detailed plan ready to get enough aid to the “desperate population” of 2.1 million.
The UN and many aid groups have refused to co-operate with GHF’s plans, which they say contradict humanitarian principles and appear to “weaponise aid”.
They have warned that the system will practically exclude those with mobility issues, force further displacement, expose thousands of people to harm, make aid conditional on political and military aims, and set an unacceptable precedent for aid delivery around the world.
Israel has said an alternative to the current aid system is needed to stop Hamas stealing aid, which the group denies doing.
The GHF said it had given out the equivalent of 462,000 meals through a partnership with local non-governmental organisations.
However, it added Palestinians had experienced several hours of delays in accessing one site “due to blockades imposed by Hamas”, without providing evidence.
US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio support “bold” and “out-of-the-box efforts” to make life better for the people of Gaza, said a senior Trump administration official.
On Tuesday afternoon, Israeli and Palestinian media shared videos showing thousands of men, women and children streaming into one of the distribution sites. In one clip, some people are seen running and ducking as what appear to be gunshots ring out.
Witnesses described a scene of chaos as people seized food parcels and other aid. They also said Israeli troops stationed nearby had opened fire.
“The situation was extremely difficult. They only allowed 50 people to cross at a time,” one man told BBC Arabic’s Middle East daily radio programme. “In the end, chaos broke out – people climbed over the gates, attacked others, and took all the [aid].”
“It was a humiliating experience,” he added.
A woman said “people are exhausted – willing to do anything, even risk their lives – just to find food and feed their children.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its troops had fired “warning shots in the area outside the compound”.
“Control over the situation was established, food distribution operations are expected to continue as planned, and the safety of IDF troops was not compromised,” it stated.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Government Media Office said Israel’s efforts to distribute aid had “failed miserably”. It also denied that Hamas had tried to stop civilians reaching the GHF’s sites.
bbc.com