Controversial aid foundation opens second Gaza distribution point

Yahoo

5 days ago

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announced the opening on Wednesday of a second distribution centre for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, following the chaotic launch of its controversial operation the previous day.
Food aid from eight trucks was distributed without incident from the new distribution centre, the foundation said in a statement.
At the two distribution centres, 14,550 food packages had so far been distributed, it said. Each package should feed 5.5 people for three and a half days, amounting to an overall 840,262 meals.
New food supplies had also arrived at the first distribution station in Rafah, the GHF said. Earlier, delays were reported following disturbances at the centre's opening on Tuesday.
Contradictory claims about operation launch
The UN Human Rights Office reported earlier on Wednesday that one person had been killed and 47 injured in chaotic scenes during Tuesday's launch of the controversial relief operation in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli troops had fired shots during the relief operation, according to information made available to the UN agency, its spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told dpa on Wednesday.
The foundation rejected the claims however.
"This is false," the foundation said. No shots had been fired at Palestinian crowds in the centre and there had been no casualties, it added.
The Israeli military had previously stated that soldiers fired warning shots outside the centre.
Challenging conditions
The foundation said that the centre was neither overrun nor destroyed, contrary to media reports of chaos and looting.
"GHF anticipated that the SDS [Safe Distribution Site] may experience pressure due to acute hunger and Hamas-imposed blockades, which create dangerous conditions outside the gates," the foundation wrote.
It said that order was restored "without incident."
"As in all emergency response situations, particularly in conflict zones, this type of reaction from stressed beneficiary populations is expected, and we remain prepared to continue providing life saving assistance should disruptions occur," the GHF added.
The activities are now due to be expanded to all four planned locations.
"Operations will continue scaling across all four sites, with plans to build additional sites across Gaza in the weeks ahead," the foundation noted.
Israel seeking to circumvent Hamas
The desperate situation of many people in the embattled coastal strip has deteriorated further in the face of a months-long blockade of aid supplies by Israel, despite a recent easing.
The largely destroyed area, populated by around 2 million Palestinians, severely lacks food, drinking water, medicines and almost all everyday necessities.
The Israeli government wants to make the GHF responsible for the distribution of aid supplies in future. In this way, Israel seeks to bypass UN aid organizations and other international volunteers.
With the distribution strategy supported by the United States, the Israeli government says it wants to prevent Hamas from diverting supplies for its own purposes and reselling them to pay for fighters and weapons.
UN representatives say that Israel has provided no evidence of this occurring, while rejecting cooperation with the GHF.
UN aid workers believe that the limited number of initially planned GHF distribution points will force people in the region to undertake long and hazardous trips through conflict zones to access the aid.
'Momentary' loss of control
On Tuesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu merely spoke of a "momentary loss of control" in the aid distribution. He said the aim was to establish a "sterile zone" in southern Gaza for the protection of Palestinians.
Many Palestinians fear a new wave of flight and expulsion from the Gaza Strip, similar to those that followed the founding of the Israeli state in 1948 and during the Six-Day War in 1967.
Israel's actions in the coastal strip, where dozens of deaths are reported daily as a result of Israeli attacks, have come under heavy international criticism.
The crisis in the coastal region has drastically worsened since the Gaza war began in October 2023. The war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history: militants from Hamas and other Islamist groups killed around 1,200 people in an attack on the south of the Jewish state and abducted more than 250 as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
According to the health authority controlled by Hamas, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in the Gaza Strip. This figure, which is difficult to verify independently, includes both fighters and civilians.
Hostages held for 600 days
The relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza were on Wednesday marking the fact that their loved ones have been in the hands of Hamas for 600 days.
According to Israeli sources, at least 20 hostages are currently still alive in the Gaza Strip. For three other abductees, it is unclear whether they are still alive. Additionally, the remains of 35 abductees are in the sealed-off area, which has numerous underground tunnel systems.