Chaos erupted on the second day of aid operations by a new US-backed group in Gaza as desperate Palestinians overwhelmed a center distributing food on Tuesday, breaking through fences. Nearby Israeli troops fired warning shots, sending people fleeing in panic. An AP journalist heard Israeli tank and gunfire and saw a military helicopter firing flares. The Israeli military said its troops fired the warning shots in the area outside the center and that "control over the situation was established." At least three injured Palestinians were seen by the AP being brought from the scene, one of them bleeding from his leg.
The distribution hub outside Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah had been opened the day before by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations. The UN and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won't be able to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies. Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli blockade pushed Gaza to the brink of famine. Israel has said the new system is necessary because it claims Hamas has been siphoning off supplies that reach Gaza.
- Palestinians at the scene told AP that small numbers of people made their way to the GHF center Tuesday morning and received food boxes. As word spread, large numbers of men, women, and children walked for several miles from the sprawling tent camps along Gaza's Mediterranean coast. To reach the hub, they had to pass through nearby Israeli military positions.
- By the afternoon, hundreds of thousands were massed at the hub. Videos show the crowds funneled in long lines through chain-link fence passages. Two people said each person was searched and had their faces scanned for identification before being allowed to receive the boxes. Crowds swelled and turmoil erupted, with people tearing down fences and grabbing boxes. The staff at the site were forced to flee, they said.
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- "There was no order, the people rushed to take, there was shooting, and we fled," said Hosni Abu Amra, who had been waiting to receive aid. "We fled without taking anything that would help us get through this hunger."
- Crowds were seen running from the site. A few managed to secure aid boxes—containing basic items like sugar, flour, pasta and tahini—but the vast majority left empty-handed.
- In a statement, GHF said that because of the large number of Palestinians seeking aid, staff at the hub followed the group's safety protocols and "fell back" to allow them to dissipate, then later resumed operations.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday commented on the turmoil at the Rafah center, saying, "There was some loss of control momentarily … happily we brought it under control." He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza's entire population to a "sterile zone" at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere.
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