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Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Thousands of Palestinians storm aid distribution sites in Gaza, with fences torn down amid desperate bid for food
Thousands of Palestinians on Tuesday stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the U.S. and Israel. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. A heartbreaking video shows swarms of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. Later, images on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution centre. Hamas denied the accusation. 'The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones,' Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. 'This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centres and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire,' he added. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. 'As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid,' said Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven. 'I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance (Hamas) said not to go,' he said in a message on the chat app WhatsApp. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a U.S.-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan, which resembles Israeli schemes floated previously, and its closeness with the U.S. has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the area of Rafah began operations on Tuesday and 'are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip.' The GHF said the volume of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to 'take aid safely and dissipate' and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations had since resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Humanitarian groups briefed on the foundation's plans say anyone accessing aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology that many Palestinians fear will end up in Israeli hands to be used to track and potentially target them. Details of exactly how the system will operate have not been made public. The United Nations and other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, which they say undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need. 'Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised,' said Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel, at war with Gaza's dominant Hamas militant group since October 2023, imposed the blockade in early March accusing Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas has denied such accusations. Displaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 27 Men look around on alert in the wake of gunfire shots as displaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 27, 2025 Displaced Palestinians receive food packages from a US-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in western Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip A youngster carries food aid as Palestinians seeking aid gather near an aid distribution site run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Hamas, which has in recent months faced protests by many Palestinians who want the devastating war to end, has also warned residents against accessing GHF sites, saying Israel was using the company to collect intelligence information. The launch of the new system came days after Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza last week, including World Food Programme vehicles bringing flour to local bakeries. But the amount of aid that has entered the densely populated coastal enclave has been just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that U.N. agencies estimate are needed every day. 'Before the war, my fridge used to be full of meat, chicken, dairy, soft drinks, everything, and now I am begging for a loaf of bread,' Abu Ahmed told Reuters via a chat app. As a small aid flow has resumed, Israeli forces - now in control of large parts of Gaza - have kept up attacks on various targets around the enclave, killing 3,901 Palestinians since a two-month-old ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to the Gaza health ministry. In all, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war, Gaza health authorities say. It was launched following a cross-border Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Palestinians Storm US-Backed Aid Centers Despite Concerns over Checks
Thousands of Palestinians on Tuesday stormed into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the US and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave. In the southern city of Rafah, which is under full Israeli army control, thousands of people including women and children, some on foot or in donkey carts, flocked towards one of the distribution sites to receive food packages. Footage, some of which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed lines of people walking through a wired-off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked. Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people jostled their way onto the site. Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said, without providing evidence, that Hamas had tried to block civilians from reaching the aid distribution center. Hamas denied the accusation. "The real cause of the delay and collapse in the aid distribution process is the tragic chaos caused by the mismanagement of the same company operating under the Israeli occupation's administration in those buffer zones," Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters. "This has led to thousands of starving people, under the pressure of siege and hunger, storming distribution centers and seizing food, during which Israeli forces opened fire," he added. Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X that 8,000 "food packages" were delivered to Palestinians on Tuesday, the first day of what he described as an American initiative. Some of the recipients showed the content of the packages, which included some rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar. SCREENING PROCEDURES Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. "As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid," said Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven. "I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance (Hamas) said not to go," he said in a message on the chat app WhatsApp. Israel says the Switzerland-based GHF is a US-backed initiative and that its forces will not be involved in the distribution points where food will be handed out. But its endorsement of the plan, which resembles Israeli schemes floated previously, and its closeness with the US has led many to question the neutrality of the foundation, including its own former chief, who resigned unexpectedly on Sunday. The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the area of Rafah began operations on Tuesday and "are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip." The GHF said the volume of people seeking aid at one distribution site was so great at one point on Tuesday that its team had to pull back to allow people to "take aid safely and dissipate" and to avoid casualties. It said normal operations had since resumed. Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas. Humanitarian groups briefed on the foundation's plans say anyone accessing aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology that many Palestinians fear will end up in Israeli hands to be used to track and potentially target them. Details of exactly how the system will operate have not been made public. AID GROUPS BOYCOTT GHF The United Nations and other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, which they say undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict, based on need. "Humanitarian assistance must not be politicized or militarized," said Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Israel, at war with Gaza's dominant Hamas group since October 2023, imposed the blockade in early March accusing Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position. Hamas has denied such accusations. Hamas, which has in recent months faced protests by many Palestinians who want the devastating war to end, has also warned residents against accessing GHF sites, saying Israel was using the company to collect intelligence information. The launch of the new system came days after Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza last week, including World Food Program vehicles bringing flour to local bakeries. But the amount of aid that has entered the densely populated coastal enclave has been just a fraction of the 500-600 trucks that UN agencies estimate are needed every day. "Before the war, my fridge used to be full of meat, chicken, dairy, soft drinks, everything, and now I am begging for a loaf of bread," Abu Ahmed told Reuters via a chat app. As a small aid flow has resumed, Israeli forces - now in control of large parts of Gaza - have kept up attacks on various targets around the enclave, killing 3,901 Palestinians since a two-month-old ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to the Gaza health ministry. In all, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war, Gaza health authorities say. It was launched following a cross-border Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
The National
18-03-2025
- Health
- The National
Gazans shocked and terrified by deadly Israeli air strikes
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Gaza's residents were in shock on Tuesday after overnight Israeli strikes across the territory claimed more than 400 lives and injured hundreds more, leaving hospitals overwhelmed with bodies and patients. The strikes crushed hopes among Palestinian residents of Gaza that a two-month ceasefire between Israel and Hamas might continue, while some families of hostages still being held by the militant group accused the Israeli government of giving up on their return. The death toll continued to rise throughout the day, with Gaza's Health Ministry reporting 404 people killed by early afternoon, as well as 562 injured, including many in critical condition. More victims were believed to be buried under rubble. Dr Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, said people were also dying because of the lack of space to treat them. 'Hundreds of martyrs and wounded individuals have been brought to hospitals that are already stretched beyond capacity, suffering from severe shortages of medicine and critical medical supplies,' he told The National. 'Our hospitals can no longer accommodate the rapidly increasing number of casualties. Operating rooms are completely full and many of the injured are dying simply because we cannot find an available bed for their treatment. All morgue refrigerators in hospitals are filled beyond capacity.' The Israeli bombardment of Gaza city in the north and the Khan Younis and Rafah areas in the south came amid a stalemate in mediated talks to extend the ceasefire that began on January 19, bringing a pause to 15 months of war. Israel has blocked all aid deliveries to the devastated Palestinian enclave since the first phase of the truce ended on March 1. 'These attacks come as Gaza faces a catastrophic siege, with all border crossings completely sealed, exacerbating an already unprecedented humanitarian crisis,' Ismail Al Thawabta, director general of government media in Gaza, told The National. He said the bombardment had 'primarily targeted civilian areas and temporary government facilities, leading to the deaths of several children and women'. 'Many victims have yet to reach hospitals due to the dire humanitarian situation on the ground and the paralysis of transportation services caused by the lack of fuel across all governorates of Gaza,' he added. Rami Radwan, 36, said he saw 10 tents on fire after strikes hit Al Mawasi in Khan Younis, where thousands of families displaced by the war now live in temporary shelters. 'When the bombing began last night, we initially thought it was a mistake or an isolated incident,' he told The National. "But as the air strikes continued, we were shocked to realise that the Israeli army had officially announced the resumption of military operations in Gaza, bringing war back once again. 'The tents that were struck were close to us – we saw them engulfed in flames, with the people inside unable to escape. Most of them were women, children and innocent civilians who had no involvement in anything,' said Mr Rami, who moved to the area with his family of seven after their home in eastern Khan Younis was destroyed in the war. 'This is terrifying," he added. "Losing our homes and loved ones was already unbearable, forcing us into a life of displacement in makeshift tents. But now, even here, Israel is hunting us down, bombing us in our tents, bringing us more death and destruction.' Residents of Gaza are deeply concerned about the return of war, fearing a repetition of the horrors they endured during 15 months of fighting. Samaah Aqel, 26, who returned to her home in Al Nasr neighbourhood of Gaza city after the ceasefire began, said she woke up in a panic when the air strikes began in the middle of the night. 'The moment we heard them, we knew the war had returned – and so had the horror,' she said. 'We are terrified of what this war will bring – more killing, more death. We spent the entire war displaced, homeless, struggling to survive. When we finally returned to our homes in northern Gaza, we barely had time to settle in before the war started all over again. 'The fear inside us is overwhelming. We are constantly terrified, never knowing when our homes will be struck, when it will be our turn.' Across the border in Israel, the largest group representing hostages held in Gaza said the heavy bombardment of Gaza meant that 'the greatest fear of the families, the hostages and the citizens of Israel has come true'. Hamas released about three dozen hostages in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinians in Israeli custody during the first stage of the ceasefire. It was due to hand over the remaining 59 captives in the second phase, of whom the Israeli military believes only 24 are still alive. 'The Israeli government has chosen to give up on the hostages … returning to fighting before the last hostage returns will come at the cost of the 59 hostages still in Gaza and could still be saved,' the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said. A separate right-wing group, the Tikva Forum, representing a smaller number of hostage families who want Israel to pursue its military campaign against Hamas, welcomed the resumption of air strikes. 'The past weeks have proven what we have been saying all along – Hamas will never return all the hostages willingly,' a statement from the group read. "Only massive military pressure, a complete blockade including cutting off electricity and water, and occupation of territories that will lead to Hamas's collapse will cause them to beg for a ceasefire and a deal that will return ALL the hostages together, in one stage. 'If the attack that began this morning continues with intensity and without interruption – we can bring all our loved ones home in one stage, on one bus.'
