Gaza Humanitarian Foundation denies five killed at aid distribution site
GHF stated that two Palestinians were ill from issues unrelated to facility security, that two food sites were operational, and had handed out 840,262 meals.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Thursday denied reports of five Palestinian deaths following the last two days of distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
According to GHF, "there are many parties who wish to see GHF fail. Their goal is to force a return to the status quo, even if it means risking lifesaving aid to the people of Gaza."
"We continue to see false reporting about deaths, mass injuries, and chaos at the Secure Distribution Sites. To reiterate, there have been no deaths at any GHF location. To date, two Gazans have required medical care that was delivered on-site, one relating to dehydration and another who was injured by others seeking aid. Reports to the contrary originated from Hamas and are inaccurate," stated GHF.
Also, GHF rebutted claims against it, stating that "no shots were fired at Palestinian crowds at the SDS [Safe Distribution Site] and there were no casualties."
GHF stated that as of Wednesday, two Safe Distribution Sites were fully operational, and that across the two sites, approximately 14,550 food boxes had been distributed. The group said that each box feeds 5.5 people for 3.5 days, totaling 840,262 meals.
More specifically, GHF said that its third SDS site was operational on Wednesday and distributed eight trucks worth of aid – enough for 378,262 meals.
Additionally, COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) announced that 121 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday. They said that the trucks carried food, including flour for bakeries.
GHF also said that no Palestinians at the site had been questioned or detained. They also noted that the site was not overrun or destroyed on Monday, though they stated that they anticipated that the area "may experience pressure due to acute hunger and Hamas-imposed blockades, which create dangerous conditions outside the gates."
Approximately 997,920 meals were distributed on Thursday, according to GHF, bringing the total number of meals distributed to date to approximately 1,838,182 via roughly 17,280 boxes.
The authority said that eight trucks of aid were distributed from the central Gaza site, totaling 7,680 boxes that provide 443,520 meals.
Next, the first food site in Rafah distributed food from six trucks, totaling 5,760 boxes that provide 332,640 meals.
Finally, the other Rafah food site continued operations, distributing four trucks of food totaling 3,840 boxes that provide 221,760 meals.
In addition, GHF made some surprising news, saying that besides existing food sites in southern and central Gaza, which were the original plan, the authority plans to expand to establish more sites in northern Gaza in the coming weeks.
"Operations will continue scaling, with plans to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, in the weeks ahead," said GHF.
Originally, Israel said it would limit GHF operations, and would not include northern Gaza at all, or only at a much later stage.
It was unclear what caused the change in policy, though it seems that many of the one million Palestinians in northern Gaza have not left, despite original IDF plans to get most of them to go to southern Gaza.
"According to established protocol, for a brief moment, the GHF team intentionally relaxed its security protocols to safeguard againstcrowd reactions to finally receiving food. No beneficiaries were injured, no lives were lost, and all food available was distributed without interference. Order was restored without incident," the aid group reported.
They noted that this type of reaction in conflict zones is expected, and that the aid group is "prepared" to continue with aid operations.
Operations will continue to grow across 4 sites, with plans to build additional aid distribution sites across Gaza in the coming weeks, GHF said.
Further, GHF rejected claims that any of its distributed content is fake.
"GHF is publicly sharing authentic, unedited photos and videos from our operations, with only faces blurred to protect identities. Any claim that our documentation is fake or generated by AI is false and irresponsible," said the authority.
Regarding attacks on a supposed GHF Facebook page, the authority responded, "GHF does not have a Facebook or any other social handles right now. A number of outlets today referenced a fraudulent Facebook page posing as GHF. That content is not affiliated with our organization."
"We urge journalists and the public to verify sources carefully. In several instances, we are seeing news reports echo Hamas statements or online disinformation campaigns without verification for accuracy. These narratives endanger humanitarian efforts and mislead the public," continued GHF.
Separately, COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) announced that 121 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday. They said that the trucks carried food, including flour for bakeries.
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