THIS is the harrowing moment thousands of Gazans overrun an aid site just hours after it opened.
Citizens desperate for food are said to have broken through the fences of the compound to reach the humanitarian aid, with shots reportedly fired.
XFootage from X appeared to show the harrowing moment thousands of Gazans overrun US-backed aid site[/caption]
XPeople are said to have broken through the fences of the compound[/caption]
AFPDisplaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in western Rafah[/caption]
ReutersTrucks transport aid as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid[/caption]
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the sheer amount of people seeking aid at its distribution site was so great, its team had to pull back so people could “take aid safely and dissipate”.
The Foundation later said that control had been gained of the situation and food distribution was resumed.
Some unconfirmed reports by Channel 12 say American forces or the IDF opened fire on the general area.
It has so far distributed about 8,000 food boxes, totalling 462,000 meals.
But this is nothing compared to Gaza’s 2.3 million population that has been on the verge of famine since Israel imposed the aid blockade in early March.
Some Palestinians in Gaza have even had to resort to searching through rubbish to find food for their families.
Shocking footage appears to show thousands of Palestinian people desperately running to get aid at one of the newly opened distribution sites in southern Gaza’s Rafah.
Lines of people walking through a wired off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked were also seen in an unconfirmed video.
And images shared on social media appeared to show large parts of the fence torn down as people desperately pushed their way onto the site.
The content of the packages included rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar, according to recipients.
The United Nations among other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, claiming that Israel is weaponising food and that it will lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They added that it undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need.
Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross: “Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised.”
It currently remains unclear just how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza, with the foundation claiming it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
Israel has launched new biometric screening procedures at aid distribution sites, with Palestinians appearing to have taken note of warnings about the system.
Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven, said: “As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid.
“I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance [Hamas] said not to go.”
Israeli officials have said an advantage of the new system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas.
Humanitarian groups briefed on the foundation’s plans say anyone wanting to access aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology.
Details of exactly how the system will operate have not been made public.
Israel makes extensive use of facial recognition and other forms of biometric identification in the occupied West Bank and has been widely reported to be using such techniques in Gaza as well.
The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the devastated enclave, and that two of them in the area of Rafah began operations on Tuesday and “are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip.”
It comes after Israel turned on British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by accusing him of “emboldening Hamas” after the UK demanded an end to their military offensive in Gaza and restrictions to aid last week.
Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at the Prime Minister along with Canada and France saying they were on the side of “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.
The allies said earlier this week that they will take “concrete actions” unless Netanyahu changes course and saying Israel was risking breaking international law.
ReutersBoxes of aid are stacked as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations[/caption]
AFPDisplaced Palestinians run to get food packages from a US-backed foundation[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
