THIS is the harrowing moment thousands of Gazans overrun an aid site just hours after it opened.
Reports indicate that individuals in urgent need of food breached the compound’s barriers to access humanitarian assistance, with gunfire allegedly used to scatter the masses.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, supported by the US, commented that the volume of individuals in search of aid at their distribution site was overwhelming, causing their team to step back to allow people to “receive aid safely and gradually disperse.”
It added that “Gazans experienced several hour delays in accessing the site due to blockades imposed by Hamas”.
The Foundation later said that control had been gained of the situation and food distribution was resumed.
It has so far distributed about 8,000 food boxes, totalling 462,000 meals.
Astonishing video footage captures thousands of Palestinians frantically rushing to obtain aid at one of the newly established distribution locations in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Lines of people walking through a wired off corridor and into a large open field where aid was stacked were seen in the unconfirmed video.
Later, images shared on social media showed large parts of the fence torn down as people desperately pushed their way onto the site.
Unconfirmed reports claim the IDF opened fire in the general area to disperse the crowds.
The Hamas-run government media office said in a statement: “What happened today is conclusive evidence of the occupation’s failure to manage the humanitarian crisis it deliberately created through a policy of starvation, siege, and bombing.”
The content of the packages included rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar, according to recipients who showed the content of the packages.
Israel imposed the blockade in early March after accusing Hamas of stealing supplies and using them to entrench its position, with the group denying the accusations.
Despite the aid being available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have taken note of warnings, including from Hamas, about the new biometric screening procedures employed at the aid distribution sites.
The launch of the new system came days after Israel eased its blockade, allowing a trickle of aid trucks from international agencies into Gaza last week, including World Food Programme vehicles bringing flour to local bakeries.
Israeli officials said one of the advantages of the new aid system is the opportunity to screen recipients to exclude anyone found to be connected with Hamas.
Humanitarian groups briefed on the foundation’s plans say anyone accessing aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology.
Details of exactly how the system will operate have not been made public.
Israel makes extensive use of facial recognition and other forms of biometric identification in the occupied West Bank and has been reported by Israeli and international media to be using such techniques in Gaza as well.
The Israeli military said four aid sites have been established in recent weeks across the enclave, and that two of them in the area of Rafah began operations on Tuesday and “are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip.”
It comes after Israel turned on British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer by accusing him of “emboldening Hamas” after the UK demanded an end to their military offensive in Gaza and restrictions to aid last week.
Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at the Prime Minister along with Canada and France saying they were on the side of “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.
The allies said earlier this week that they will take “concrete actions” unless Netanyahu changes course and saying Israel was risking breaking international law.
