What we know about the shootings near Gaza aid distribution sites

Winnipeg Free Press

3 days ago

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Shootings have erupted nearly daily this week in the Gaza Strip in the vicinity of new hubs where desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food. Witnesses say nearby Israeli troops have opened fire. Hospital officials say at least 80 people have been killed and hundreds wounded.
The Israeli military has said it fired warning shots in several instances, and has also fired directly at a few 'suspects' who ignored warnings and approached its forces. It has denied opening fire on civilians, and has not claimed Hamas fired in the area of the hubs, though it says it is still investigating.
What we know about the shootings that have occurred as crowds walked toward aid distribution hubs:
Crowds pass close to Israeli forces
Three aid distribution hubs are being run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a newly formed group of mainly American contractors. Israel wants GHF to replace humanitarian groups in Gaza that distribute aid in coordination with the U.N.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid under the U.N.-led system. But the U.N. and aid groups deny there is a significant diversion of aid to militants, and say the new system — which they have rejected — allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and won't be effective.
GHF started distributing aid on May 26, following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that has pushed Gaza's population of more than 2 million people to the brink of famine. The GHF system limits food distribution to hubs guarded by armed contractors. Of the three hubs that are open, one is in central Gaza and two are in the far south on the outskirts of the mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah; not all have operated every day.
On Wednesday, GHF paused aid distribution, saying that it was discussing measures to improve civilian safety with the Israeli military, including changes to traffic management and troop training.
All the hubs are located in Israeli military zones, where journalists have no access.
To reach the sites in Rafah, Palestinians must walk for miles along a designated route where GHF says the Israeli military keeps security. In statements to the public, GHF has warned people to stay on the road, saying leaving it 'represents a great danger.'
Distribution usually starts at 5 a.m. each day. But thousands of Palestinians start walking hours earlier, desperate not to miss out on food. That means large crowds passing by Israeli troops in the dark.
Heaviest fire has erupted at a nearby roundabout
While shootings have been reported near all three hubs, the heaviest occurred Sunday and Tuesday at the Flag Roundabout. The traffic circle is located on the designated route about a kilometer (1,000 yards) northwest of GHF's distribution hub in the Tel al-Sultan district of Rafah. The hub is a few hundred meters from an Israeli army base.
Witnesses said that in the early hours Sunday, as crowds made their way down the coastal road toward the hub, Israeli troops fired warning shots and made announcements through drones flying overhead, telling them to turn back and return when the hub opened at 5 a.m.
By 3 a.m., thousands were massed at the Flag Roundabout, waiting for the hub to open. That was when Israeli troops started firing, with guns, tanks and drones, three Palestinian witnesses said. They said they saw people falling dead or wounded as the crowd scattered for cover.
Mohammed Ahmed, one man in the crowd, said he saw no provocative acts before the shooting. He said troops 'may have opened fire because they felt threatened by the thousands of people in the area.'
Witnesses gave similar accounts of Tuesday's shooting, around 4 a.m. at the same roundabout.
Israel says it fires warning shots to control crowds
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots Sunday at 'several suspects' approaching them. On Tuesday it said it 'fired to drive away suspects.' In a statement, army spokesman Effie Defrin said 'the numbers of casualties published by Hamas were exaggerated' but that the incident was being investigated.
He accused Hamas of 'trying to disrupt the arrival of aid' to Palestinians and pointed to drone footage that the military says shows armed men firing at civilians trying to collect aid in the nearby city of Khan Younis, where there are no GHF sites.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the video, and it was not clear who was being targeted. In its statements on the incidents near the GHF sites, the military has not reported the presence of armed Palestinians.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says there has been no violence in or around their distribution centers and that its personnel have not opened fire.
On Tuesday, GHF acknowledged that the Israeli military was investigating whether civilians were wounded 'after moving beyond the designated safe corridor and into a closed military zone' in an area that was 'well beyond our secure distribution site.'
A spokesperson said GHF was 'saddened to learn that a number of civilians were injured and killed after moving beyond the designated safe corridor.'
Hospitals overwhelmed by casualties
Officials at the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah and at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis have reported being overwhelmed by casualties. The casualties include women and children brought from areas close to the distribution sites. They have said most are suffering from gunshot wounds.
An aid worker at one hospital said the morgue was overflowing and that wounded filled every bed, or were on the floor, many with gunshots to the buttocks and legs. The worker spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Aid workers in Gaza say there is still a lot of uncertainty about what is happening and why so many people are being shot, injured and killed. The aid workers are unable to operate at the sites because they are in military zones.
Humanitarian groups had warned for weeks that having people collect aid in areas with a military presence would expose them to violence.
'This was a ludicrous and ineffective distribution mechanism that was going to end up deadly, which is, tragically, exactly what we are seeing,' said Arwa Damon, founder of the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance.
The UN-run system operates differently
The existing U.N.-run system operates differently, with workers taking aid to Palestinians wherever they are.
'It is appalling that the humanitarian sector that knows how to do their job is being prevented from doing it because of the false narrative that Hamas controls the aid,' Damon said.
Deadly encounters around aid distribution aren't entirely new. In February 2024, Israeli troops guarding an aid convoy heading to northern Gaza opened fire as a crowd of desperate Palestinians stripped supplies off the trucks. More than 100 people were killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government.
After investigating the incident, Israel said its troops fired on a 'number of suspects' who ignored warning shots and advanced toward its forces. It said a stampede around the trucks caused 'significant harm to civilians.' EU and U.N. officials at the time said most of the casualties were from Israeli fire.
A race for food boxes
Palestinians have described a frenzied free-for-all to get food once they reach the GHF's distribution sites.
Boxes of food are left piled up on pallets in an area surrounded by fences and earth berms. Once the sites' gates are opened, the crowds rush in, with everyone grabbing what they can. Witnesses say some people take multiple boxes, which quickly run out, and that many leave empty-handed.
GHF issued a video at the Tel al-Sultan hub showing Palestinians racing furiously toward the boxes.
Aid workers say the supplies are far from enough. GHF says each box contains enough food for a family of five to eat for three to four days. Most boxes contain flour, sugar, cooking oil, pasta and tuna cans, among other items.
'Our team on the ground reports these boxes are woefully insufficient for ensuring children's well-being,' said Tess Ingram of UNICEF. 'It doesn't have to be this way.'
___
Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer contributed from Nahariya, Israel