Dozens injured in chaos, shooting at Gaza aid center
About 47 people were injured, largely because of gunshots fired by the Israeli military, during chaotic scenes at a new aid distribution center in southern Gaza, a senior UN official said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred as thousands of Palestinians rushed to claim aid at the center run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — registered in Geneva and backed by Israel and the United States — which largely sidelined professional humanitarian workers.
According to the United Nations, 47 people were injured in the mayhem that erupted on Tuesday, while a Palestinian medical source said at least one had died.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said most of the wounded had been hurt by gunfire.
Based on the information he had, "it was shooting from the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)".
The Israeli military rejected the accusation, with spokesman Olivier Rafowicz telling Agence France-Presse that Israeli soldiers "fired warning shots into the air, in the area outside" the center, and "in no case toward the people".
The issue of aid has come under intense scrutiny amid a deepening hunger crisis, as more than two months of Israeli blockade had pushed Palestinians to the edge of desperation.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said videos from one of the aid points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation were "heartbreaking, to say the least".
He reiterated that the UN and its partners have a "detailed, principled, operationally sound plan supported by member states to get aid to a desperate population".
Jens Laerke, deputy spokesperson of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters in Geneva that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a "distraction from what is needed".
He reiterated the immediate need to reopen all the crossings into Gaza, ensuring a secure environment within the enclave and faster facilitation of permissions and final approvals for all the emergency supplies.
Ahmed Bayram, spokesman for the Norwegian Refugee Council in the Middle East, told China Daily that they continue to call for humanitarians "to be allowed to do their job properly".
"Experimenting with opaque, uncoordinated aid systems overseen by private firms will only fuel chaos and desperation," Bayram said. "We have been clear that this new way of doing aid lacks transparency."
Official Israeli sources said that 95 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies and pharmaceutical drugs, entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Tuesday, following inspection.
Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.
