RAFAH —
Thousands of Palestinians crowded into a new aid distribution centre run by a US-backed group in southern Gaza on Tuesday, leading to scenes of chaos as Israel introduced a new aid delivery system.
The incident took place in Rafah, just days after Israel partially lifted the total blockade it had enforced since March 2, which had led to acute shortages of food and medicine.
According to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the situation eventually stabilised and normal operations resumed.
“I was waiting in line at the aid centre in Rafah with hundreds of people when suddenly a huge crowd started pushing in, desperate to grab whatever they could,” Ayman Abu Zaid, a displaced resident, told AFP.
“There wasn’t enough aid, and the distribution was slow, so people just tried to get in and take it themselves,” he explained. He added that “at one point, the Israeli forces started firing warning shots, and it was terrifying. People scattered, but some kept going, trying to get the aid despite the danger.”
The Israeli military confirmed that “troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound.” They said control was eventually regained and that the food distribution would proceed as planned, while the safety of Israeli soldiers was not compromised.
The GHF said in a statement that when the crowd at the distribution centre grew too large, their team temporarily stepped back to allow a smaller number of Palestinians to collect aid safely and disperse. “Normal operations have since resumed,” it added.
AFP footage showed large crowds leaving the area carrying supplies, including boxes marked “GHF.”
The GHF also cited “blockades imposed by Hamas” as the reason for hours-long delays at one of its distribution sites.
Meanwhile, a statement from Hamas’s government media office accused Israel’s new aid distribution system in Gaza of having “failed miserably.”
