CNN
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The distribution of aid from a new controversial US- and Israeli-backed organization to Gaza was suspended 24 hours on Wednesday after Palestinians were attacked for three days on their way to distribution sites, resulting in fatal consequences.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the hub would be closed due to logistical work to better process the vast number of people arriving in hoping to gather food, allowing Israeli forces to “prepare access routes to the centre.” The distribution on the site is scheduled to resume on Thursday.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) warned Palestinians that they endured a 11-week lockdown of aid to the strip, and then a small amount of food and supplies have endured in the past few weeks to leave the GHF sites. Avichay Adraee, an Arabic spokesman for the military, wrote in X’s post Tuesday.
A GHF spokesman said the organization is “actively involved” in consultations with Israeli military to improve security beyond the boundaries of the humanitarian belt. The GHF asked the IDF to introduce measures to guide pedestrians from military positions, develop clearer guidance, enable the population to move safely to aid sites, and “improve internal IDF procedures to enhance IDF power training and support safety.”
The coordinator of government activities for Israeli agency Territory (Cogat), has coordinated the passage of aid to Gaza, saying 157 trucks with food and flour entered the enclave on Tuesday. These humanitarian trucks supply both the GHF and the United Nations and continue to provide assistance even after the GHF began operations. However, according to the United Nations, only a small portion of the 500-600 trucks that entered Gaza before the war remain.
The GHF got off to a rocky start when the first executive director resigned last Monday, citing concerns about equity and urged Israel to allow more assistance to enclaves blocked in enclaves.
US military veteran Jake Wood left GHF head within weeks with an organization that was released by the US in early May. The foundation on Tuesday appointed Rev. Johnny Moore, the Rev., evangelical Christian leader, as new director, and pledged to expand distribution efforts in Gaza.
“The GHF demonstrates that it is possible to travel safely, efficiently and effectively to those who need vast amounts of food to the people who need it most,” Moore said in a statement Tuesday.
The organization has repeatedly said there was no violence on their site, but confirmed that the incident occurred along the approach route to the centre on Tuesday. “This was a territory that went far beyond our secure distribution sites,” GHF said.
Palestinian authorities say dozens of Palestinians died after being exposed to Israeli fires. Nearly 30 people were killed and dozens were injured on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said. The IDF said the troops fired multiple times after identifying them as “deviating from the designated access route” and “several suspects are moving towards them.”
A day ago, three Palestinians were shot dead and dozens were injured while accessing aid, Palestinians and hospital officials said. Israeli forces said they fired a warning shot about one kilometer (about 1,100 yards) from the GHF site.
On Sunday, Palestinian health ministry, hospital officials and half a dozen witnesses said that Israeli forces were responsible for the shooting that killed 31 people. At the time, the IDF said the force “didn’t fire civilians while they were nearby or inside,” but Israeli military sources confirmed that Israeli forces fired at individuals about a kilometre away before the aid site opened.
Most established aid organizations and the United Nations have refused to cooperate with the GHF, citing concerns that it fails to meet core humanitarian principles and that a limited distribution point south of the strip will encourage Israeli military targets to remove Gaza’s population from the north.
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian director, struggled with the foundation’s assessment during a UN Security Council meeting earlier this month.
“It provides assistance on conditional political and military purposes. It makes hunger a tip for negotiations. It is an ironic sideshow. It is an intentional distraction. Fig leaves for further violence and displacement.”
However, GHF doubled its distribution mechanism. The organization said Tuesday: “We’re focusing on one thing: we provide food to those who need it most, and now we are the only organization that is consistent and safe.”
Jeremy Diamond of CNN contributed to this report.
