Jerusalem
CNN
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Israel faces growing international pressure as Gaza’s aid distribution efforts have plunged into disarray in the first days of a new controversial mechanism supported by the US and Israel.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says 11 people have been killed and dozens have been injured as a crowd of hopeless people have arrived at a distribution site in South Gaza since it opened earlier this week.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which runs the new site, said Thursday that no one was killed or injured during the distribution of aid.
After 11 weeks of Israeli lockdown, tens of thousands of Palestinians were forced towards hunger, descending both on sites belonging to the GHF and in the past three days, grabbing bags of food and flour bags. Gaza’s food shortage has recently caused scenes of despair and widespread looting.
The beginning of a new aid mechanism is increasingly speaking up by some of Israel’s closest allies condemning its actions in Gaza, and the threat of their actions is increasing if aid bombardment and restrictions continue.
On Wednesday, European Union foreign policy director Kaja Karas said “Israel’s strike in Gaza exceeds what it takes to fight Hamas.” She also criticized the new aid mechanism run by the GHF, saying the EU “does not support any kind of privatization of the distribution of humanitarian aid.”
Recent comments from an official from Germany, one of Israel’s most solid advocates, have also put support for Israel under the spotlight. “The Israeli government should not do anything that their best friend is no longer ready to accept,” Prime Minister Friedrich Merz said this week.
Last week, British, French and Canadian leaders threatened to adopt “concrete actions” including targeted sanctions if Israel continues to stop new military attacks and block new invasions into Gaza.
But the despair of hungry Palestinians continues, despite the warnings of Israeli allies.
On Tuesday, a large number of Palestinians overrunned the first GHF aid site in southern Gaza, demolishing and climbing some of the barriers to crowd control. The Rush was forced by private contractors to place the site at the Tel Al Sultan site and “make sure that a small number of Gazas fall to ensure that they can safely receive assistance.”
GHF argued that “there were no deaths at the GHF location. The opposite report comes from Hamas and is inaccurate.”
A day later, according to WFP, “Horde of the Hungry People” broke into the UN warehouse in search of meals for Dale Al Bala in central Gaza. The sound of the shooting was heard in the video of the scene. According to WFP, initial reports showed that two people were killed and several were injured in the incident.
The WFP said humanitarian needs have gone out of control after Israel’s “complete 80-day lockdown.”
The UN Humanitarian Cooperation Agency (OCHA) said on Wednesday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “at the darkest point ever.” He criticized the new framework, saying, “A new militarized distribution system has just begun,” which stated, “put people at risk and fails to meet the needs and dignity of people across Gaza.”
“There are no conditions for us to provide assistance on a safe and large scale,” Ocha said in a statement.
For now, the new GHF mechanism and the established UN distribution are operating simultaneously in Gaza. However, most aid is in the territory, and it appears that some areas, especially in northern Gaza, have received nothing.
Thursday’s Earth measurement video saw crowds looting Zeitoun’s street market in South Gaza, an area with even less aid than the South.
On Thursday, three of the four GHF sites, including the first in central Gaza, distributed food boxes. This is because the organization is trying to achieve its clear goal of providing food to 1.2 million Palestinians in a few days. However, the GHF confidently said, “We’re on track,” and with the distribution of the UN, it was to provide ample food for the entire population of the more than 2 million Palestinians in the besieged enclave.
UN officials have raised questions about the GHF’s predictions.
Gaza resident Omar Abd Lab went to a new site in the centre of the enclave and asked for food when it opened. In a series of videos, he said, “This place was filled with chaos and random bouncing. This is a scene that reflects the extent of the suffering and hunger experienced by the people of Gaza.” He took a short video with one of the US security contractors assigned to the site and said, “Thank you.”
However, many people didn’t get the food they had been waiting for desperately. Videos from the scene show that security within the site is throwing what appears to be waiting for food outside. The GHF said “non-lethal measures” were used, including “smoke and warning shots” when the crowd did not regress. Witnesses said those who had not received assistance had stolen tables and chairs from the site.
Another resident, Yousef Hammad, said that a crowd of tens of thousands had approached the newly opened site, but he said few people had gotten the box on CNN.
“This is a big lie, it’s a trap and a betrayal, this is just for the thieves and merchants…people don’t benefit anything,” Hamad said. “There is no assistance or humanity. This is humiliating and insulting. This is a lack of dignity for our people and our children.”
