Israeli troops open fire as Palestinians rush to receive food
What's the story
Israeli troops fired warning shots near a distribution center in Gaza on Tuesday as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) lost control of the site, leading to chaos among thousands of Palestinians waiting for food supplies.
The GHF, which uses armed private contractors to guard the hubs and is supported by the US State Department, was distributing humanitarian aid amid an 11-week Israeli blockade that left over two million Palestinians facing severe food shortages.
Distribution chaos
GHF's operations disrupted, Israeli military intervenes
The GHF's operations were thrown into disarray as large crowds rushed the distribution center in Rafah.
The Israeli military fired warning shots into the air, and US contractors overseeing the site briefly withdrew.
Videos from the scene showed people tearing down fencing and climbing over barriers meant to control crowd flow.
"They want order, but there will be no order because these are desperate people who want to eat and drink," a person at the site said.
Aid response
GHF acknowledges chaos, plans to increase aid distribution
The GHF admitted to the chaos, saying "the GHF team fell back to allow a small number" of Palestinians to take aid safely.
"This was done in accordance with GHF protocol to avoid casualties," it said.
A security source confirmed that American contractors didn't fire shots and operations would resume Wednesday.
The GHF has distributed around 8,000 food boxes so far and plans to increase this daily with a goal of reaching 1.2 million people.
Criticism voiced
UN criticizes GHF's aid mechanism, calls for reopening crossings
The GHF has established four food distribution hubs around Gaza, two of which began operations on Monday, both in the Rafah area.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had earlier criticized the GHF's aid mechanism as "practically unfeasible" and incompatible with humanitarian principles.
Jens Laerke from the UN aid coordination office called it a distraction from what is needed, which is the reopening of all crossings into Gaza and creating a secure environment within.
Future plans
Israel's plans for Gaza and UN's response
Israel intends to occupy 75% of Gaza within two months as part of its new offensive.
Israeli officials have indicated that the entire population would be displaced to southern Gaza.
The UN has warned that restricting initial distribution sites could encourage Israel's goal of displacing Gazans from northern areas, as Defense Minister Israel Katz put it earlier this month.