A new humanitarian aid centre in southern Gaza collapsed into chaos on Tuesday, forcing Israeli troops to fire warning shots as desperate Palestinians overwhelmed the facility.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group selected by Israel and backed by the United States, lost control of its secure distribution site in Rafah on only its second day of operation. Thousands of Palestinians, many of them hungry and displaced, surged past barriers in an attempt to access food supplies.
The Israeli military said it fired “warning shots” near the crowd to restore order after fences were breached and aid workers were overrun. Military aircraft were also seen overhead.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of confusion and fear.
“It was chaos,” said Ahmed Abu Taha, who had walked several miles to reach the site. “People were panicking. I heard gunfire and saw the planes. Everyone was just trying to get food.”
While a few individuals managed to obtain boxes of essential items such as flour, sugar, pasta, and tahini, most left with nothing.
Aid Workers Withdraw as Order Breaks Down
In a statement released later that evening, GHF said its staff had been forced to retreat from the site as the situation deteriorated.
“At one moment in the late afternoon, the volume of people at the secure distribution centre was such that the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Palestinians in Gaza to take aid safely and dissipate,” the organisation said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the incident during a televised address on Tuesday night, admitting there had been a “loss of control momentarily” but said the situation had since been stabilised.
The Rafah hub is one of four centres established across Gaza by the GHF, which uses armed private contractors to guard the premises and escort convoys.
Growing Criticism and Resignations
The collapse of the aid operation has intensified criticism of the GHF, which was already under scrutiny for its political ties and lack of experience.
The organisation’s founding director, Jake Wood, resigned on Sunday, just a day before the incident, citing concerns about the GHF’s neutrality and effectiveness.
“It would not be possible for the group to deliver aid while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence,” he said.
The United Nations and major international aid agencies have refused to work with the GHF, arguing that its creation undermines established humanitarian principles and risks politicising relief efforts in a volatile conflict zone.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric described the scenes on Tuesday as “heartbreaking”, stating that “crowds rushing to get aid are deeply upsetting when the UN and partners already have a detailed, principled and operationally sound plan to deliver assistance”.
Worsening Crisis Amid Limited Aid
More than 2 million people in Gaza are facing a dire humanitarian crisis following months of war and a near-total blockade, including an 11-week complete halt on essential supplies.
While Israel has recently allowed a small amount of UN aid to enter the enclave, it plans to phase out its reliance on the UN and replace it with GHF-led efforts.
However, Tuesday’s events cast doubt on the viability of that strategy. The GHF has struggled to meet the overwhelming demand, and critics say the group’s limited reach, lack of infrastructure, and controversial backing by Israel and the US make it ill-suited for the task.
The US State Department defended the organisation, with spokesperson Tammy Bruce insisting that aid delivery, regardless of the channel, was the top priority. She also accused Hamas of blocking GHF convoys from reaching civilians.
Meanwhile, COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for coordinating aid, said that around 400 trucks of food were waiting inside Gaza at the main border crossing. But a UN spokesperson in Geneva countered that the routes assigned by Israeli authorities were insecure and unusable for aid convoys.
“The volume of aid that has entered Gaza in the past week is vastly insufficient,” the spokesperson said.
