Starving Gazans mob aid workers
Sabra Lane: Private contractors delivering aid to Gazans had to evacuate their distribution sites because they were mobbed by desperate people. This had been the start of a new Israeli-designed system to deliver food, replacing existing humanitarian agencies with a private company. Aid agencies have condemned it as inadequate and dangerous. Middle East correspondent Eric Tlozek reports.
Eric Tlozek : Footage showed thousands of people overrunning the aid distribution site in Rafah in southern Gaza. The desperate Palestinians had rushed from across the strip for their first chance to get food in weeks. Afaf al Syed came with her family.
Afaf al Syed : People are hungry, people are in need. I am one of them. I hope they get aid every day for the people.
Eric Tlozek : Aid agencies say Gazans have been pushed to the brink of starvation by Israel's decision to block food from entering the territory in early March. In recent days, the Israeli military has let a small amount of food enter, but most people are still desperate and hungry. Mohammed Afana was one of those who got an aid package.
Mohammad Afana : I can feed my children for a week with all of that. Look, there's rice. One kilo of rice costs 80 shekels. Sugar is 170 shekels. That's 90 shekels over there. Such a shame. Look, look, there's fava beans. When my children see that, they'll be happy.
Eric Tlozek : The aid's being delivered by a private company staffed by former soldiers and managed by a newly formed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. It hasn't revealed where its funding comes from. In a statement, the group acknowledged its staff withdrew from a distribution site when it was mobbed by desperate Gazans. It says normal delivery resumed afterwards and will continue today. Etaf Abutir was one of the people who ran inside.
Etaf Abu Tear : They opened the gates and people rushed in. Everybody rushed. They all went. We've been displaced. We're hungry. I'm an old woman.
Eric Tlozek : The Israeli military denied reports it had fired on the crowd, saying soldiers had fired warning shots. The scenes highlighted some of the fears expressed by the established aid agencies already working in Gaza. They've condemned the new plan, saying it breaches humanitarian principles and won't be able to meet the huge needs. Bushra Khalidi, the Palestinian Territory's policy lead for the humanitarian organisation Oxfam, says the new agency can't replace existing networks that have helped Gazans for decades.
Bushra Khalidi: How are you going to set up something that is going to serve 2.1 million people who are on the brink of starvation, who are desperate, and meet their daily needs overnight, basically. That's what they're telling us. That sounds like magic. This is not a solution. It's a distraction from the root problem.
Eric Tlozek : Israel's government and military say the new system isolates the militant group Hamas, which they accuse of diverting aid. But the United Nations and other agencies are worried Israel could use its control of aid to achieve military goals. Bushra Khalidi says the implementation of this plan will have dire consequences for future humanitarian missions.
Bushra Khalidi: We are basically turning aid into a tool of control.
Sabra Lane: Oxfam's Bushra Khalidi ending that report from Eric Tlozek
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