IDF Opens Fire as Gaza Food Aid Distribution Descends into Chaos

Israeli troops opened fire near thousands of hungry Palestinians as a logistics group chosen by Israel to ship food into Gaza lost control of its distribution centre on only the second day of operations.

- Emma Graham-Harrison

An 11-week siege and a still tight Israel blockade means most people in Gaza are desperately hungry.

Hundreds of thousands walked through Israeli military lines to reach the new distribution centre in Rafah yesterday.

But the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was not prepared for them and staff at one point were forced to abandon their posts.

"At one moment in the late afternoon, the volume of people at the SDS (secure distribution centre) was such that the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Gazans to take aid safely and dissipate," the organisation said in a statement.

The Israeli military said it fired "warning shots" near the compound to restore control. It was not immediately clear whether there had been any injuries among people trying to get food.

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, acknowledged there was a "loss of control momentarily", adding: "Happily, we brought it back under control."

Images shared on social media, which could not immediately be verified, appeared to show people waiting in queues between wire fences. These were later partially torn down, as people rushed into an open field where boxes were waiting.

On Sunday, Jake Woods, the founding director of the GHF resigned, saying that it would not be possible for the group to deliver aid "while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence".