An aid operation meant to ease Gaza’s hunger crisis descended into bedlam again Thursday as thousands of starving Palestinians swarmed food distribution sites run by a controversial new entity backed by Israel and the United States.
A video showed Israeli tanks moving amid clouds of tear gas and smoke grenades near one of the three Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) centers, as panicked crowds scrambled for food.
Gunfire echoed through central Gaza, and multiple witnesses reported Israeli troops firing at civilians to disperse them after aid supplies ran out.
“I came for a sack of flour, even just a sardine tin,” said Mahmoud Ismael, walking miles on crutches from a previous injury, only to leave empty-handed. “There is no food in my house. I can’t feed my children.”
The GHF, hastily launched this week with Israeli military backing, has replaced the United Nations as the main food distributor in Gaza – a shift humanitarian groups condemn as dangerous, chaotic and deeply politicized.
Since Tuesday, clashes at GHF sites have left at least one dead and dozens wounded, Gaza health officials say.
Witnesses described a harrowing scene at one center near Rafah, where thousands had waited since dawn.
Food pallets were dumped in an open area fenced with barbed wire and watched over by armed private contractors and Israeli troops.
As the crowd surged, witnesses said the contractors pulled back and Israeli troops opened fire, mostly at people’s feet.
“The sand was jumping around us,” said Shehada, 41, who asked to use only his first name for fear of reprisal. “My cousin was shot in the foot.”
At another Rafah location, Samira Z’urob arrived to find “gangs” carting off aid, while others rummaged through the remnants. “I begged for food. Someone gave me pasta and a can of beans. I thanked God and took it to my children,” she said.
Further north, near the Netzarim corridor, Aisha Na’na left empty-handed. “We came to get food, but returned with nothing – only firewood,” she said.
While witnesses and medics at Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital confirmed multiple gunshot victims on Thursday, including a 17-year-old girl, GHF denied responsibility.
The organization claimed in a statement that no shots were fired at its sites over the last three days and that casualty reports “originated from Hamas.”
The Israeli military also denied firing live rounds at civilians but admitted using crowd control measures, blaming the U.N. for the breakdown in aid and accusing Hamas of looting supplies and holding hostages.
With journalists barred from the distribution points and only grainy footage emerging, the exact chain of events remains murky.
The U.N. said Israel denied its trucks permission to pick up aid for three consecutive days.
Israel’s push to replace the U.N.-run relief system with the GHF is being widely criticized by aid groups, who accuse Israel of weaponizing food.
They argue that the new system compels displaced Palestinians to trek for miles through dangerous territory to receive basic supplies, often unsuccessfully.
On Thursday, the GHF announced that it had distributed 32,200 boxes since Monday, each reportedly containing enough staples, such as sugar, pasta, and lentils, to prepare 58 meals.
The group plans to open a fourth center soon and expand operations.
Meanwhile, hunger is mounting. With 2.3 million people trapped in a war zone, Gaza’s food supply remains critically short. For weeks, Israel has blocked most entry of fuel, food, and medicine, only allowing limited convoys recently.
Separately Thursday, Israeli strikes killed at least 34 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. Israel also approved plans for 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank – a move most of the international community views as illegal under international law.
