TRANSCRIPT
A frenzy has swept a controversial US-Israeli aid distribution centre in Gaza's south with tens of thousands of starving Palestinians breaking through fences in a desperate effort to secure food for their families.
And then came the gunshots.
Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel’s military shot and killed three Palestinians and wounded 46 others in Rafah with seven people still missing.
Some people braved the gunfire and stampede and were able to secure a box of supplies.
“We are dying of hunger. The children are saying, ‘father, I want to eat,’ so I want to sell even my blood to feed them. We can’t find anything to eat. I saw the youth running, so I wanted to come. Some were afraid, but I thought, let it be, I need to feed the children. We have starved, died. Stop the war."
At least three injured Palestinians were seen by the Associated Press, one of them bleeding from his leg.
The Israeli military claims its troops simply fired warning shots in the area outside the centre until control over the situation was established.
The disorder led to desperate Palestinians like Hosni Abu Amra missing out on supplies.
"There was no order, the people rushed in and we didn't get to take anything. There was shooting, and we fled. We didn't take anything that would benefit us, help us get by given the famine that we are in. We didn't benefit. There was no order at all, they could not control the people because of the extent of the famine affecting society."
The new distribution from the Israeli-approved and US backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation forms part of Israel's plan to seize control of all aid delivery into Gaza from the United Nations, who have been critical of Israel's aid blockade and assault on Gaza.
Israel says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aims to combat disorder in aid deliveries and what they claim are Hamas efforts to loot the supplies for themselves.
But the UN and other aid groups say the organisation does not abide by humanitarian principles and appears to weaponise aid.
The foundation's executive director Jake Wood resigned this week, citing concerns over its independence.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the scenes out of Rafah are tragic and the US and Israel must stop efforts to undermine UN aid work.
"Frankly these images are heartbreaking to say the least. As the Secretary-General noted last week, we and our partners have a detailed, principled, operationally sound plan supported by member states to get aid to desperate population. We continue to stress that a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of all civilians wherever they are."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the chaos and promised to open more distribution centres in Gaza's south.
He says this is part of an effort to force the two million Palestinians living in Gaza into a tiny portion of the enclave as the Israeli ground offensive works to seize full control of the territory.
"There was some loss of control momentarily. Happily, we brought it back under control. We're going to put many more of these. And the idea is basically to take away the humanitarian looting as a tool of war of Hamas to give it to the population, eventually to have a sterile zone in the south of Gaza, where the entire population can move for its own protection."
Despite the shooting, looting and chaos, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says it was a successful day for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with approximately 8,000 food boxes delivered to Gazans.
“Hamas has been opposed to this dynamic. They have attempted to stop the aid movement through Gaza to these distribution centres. They have failed, but they certainly tried. The bottom line is, the real story here is that the aid is moving through, and in that kind of environment it's not surprising that there might be a few issues involved, but the good news is that those seeking to get aid to the people of Gaza, which is not Hamas, have succeeded.”
These efforts followed repeated warnings by the UN that attempts to sidestep established aid delivery channels would reduce the amount of food reaching Palestinians and increase public disorder.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, says they see the work of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as a distraction from the real issue of impending famine.
"We do not participate in this modality for the reasons that we have given. It is a distraction from what is actually needed, which is a reopening of all the crossings into Gaza, a secure environment within Gaza and faster facilitation of permissions and final approvals of all the emergency supplies that we have just outside the border. It needs to get in."
