DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: At least one Palestinian was killed and 48 others wounded when a crowd was fired upon while overrunning a new aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip set up by an Israeli and US-backed foundation, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Wednesday.
Crowds of Palestinians on Tuesday broke through fences around the distribution site where thousands had massed. An Associated Press journalist heard Israeli tank and gun fire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.
It was not yet known whether the death and injuries were caused by Israeli forces, private contractors or others. The foundation said its military contractors had not fired on the crowd but “fell back” before resuming aid operations. Israel said its troops nearby had fired warning shots.
The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah was 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 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 border closures pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
“What we saw yesterday is a very clear example of the dangers of distributing food under (these) circumstances,” Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva. He said the new system is “exposing people to death and injury when they have faced 19 months of this brutal war.”
Israel says it helped establish the new aid mechanism to prevent Hamas from siphoning off supplies, but it has provided no evidence of systematic diversion and UN agencies say they have mechanisms in place to prevent it while delivering aid to all parts of the territory.
GHF says it has established four hubs, two of which have begun operating in the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. They are guarded by private security contractors and have chain-link fences channeling Palestinians into a what resemble military bases surrounded by large sand berms.
Israeli forces are stationed nearby in a military zone separating Rafah from the rest of the territory.
The UN and other aid groups have refused to participate in GHF’s system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation, a violation of international law.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that “there was some loss of control momentarily” at the distribution point, adding that “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. Netanyahu has also vowed to facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of Gaza’s population to other countries, a plan for what Palestinians and others view as forcible expulsion.