New Gaza aid group met with chaos, gunfire in its first week
In the southern tip of Gaza, along a dusty road that is mostly desolate — but for an Israeli military presence — thousands of Palestinians gathered on Friday for the latest aid distribution from the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The lines were long, the road was dangerous and the possibility of leaving empty handed was high. But people were, and remain, desperate. And after weeks of aid not getting into Gaza, they'll go to any lengths to secure some food.
"I'm coming to face death so I can feed my children," Imran Wafi told CBC News, from the side of a road leading to a distribution point.
"We know it's dangerous but the big catastrophe is there's no food for us to eat."
GHF claims it has delivered over two million meals in Gaza in its first week of operations in the enclave. The U.S.-backed startup was established in February in Switzerland, and has already drawn widespread condemnation from other aid agencies operating in the territory.
In a statement to CBC News, GHF said its distributions occurred "without incident" and that it plans to expand its presence in the enclave "including in the northern region" in the weeks to come. It currently runs two sites, one in Rafah and one in central Gaza in the Natsarim corridor.
But eyewitness reports from the ground say many of those distributions have been chaotic, and that at least one person was killed at a GHF hub — a claim which the organization denies.
Video footage from throughout the week shows droves of people breaking through fences and running in every direction amid gunshots. Gaza resident Ahmed Al-Qadi says his friend, Mohamed Abdelhadi, was killed getting aid from GHF at Natsarim on Wednesday.
"He went to get aid and on his way home... he turned his back and he got hit," he said. "This aid is with blood, it's dipped in blood."
GHF denies anyone was killed during its operations this week. "No civilians or individuals involved with the distribution of aid were injured, no lives were lost," it said in a statement to CBC News.
And yet, aid distributions by the group, which started on Monday, have not been without hiccups, many ending with warning shots or chaotic breaks by Palestinians through fences set up to control the lineups.
GHF has also faced criticism from organizations including the United Nations, which opposes its operations in Gaza. The previous leading aid group in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), was banned from the territory last year by Israel over its staffers' alleged involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas which sparked the current war in Gaza. Despite that, UNRWA continued operating and the ban was met with concern from international leaders.
The UN said Friday that GHF is an "attempt to circumvent the UN and its agencies on the ground" which have been present in Gaza for a long time "in accordance with international law."
The statement went on to say that GHF "fails the test of humanitarian principles."
CBC News caught up with people walking back from the distribution point in central Gaza. One man showed the contents of a box containing flour, sugar, pasta and oil.
But not everyone was as lucky. Gaza resident Muhammad Abu Gharqud said Thursday was the second time he came to a distribution point and left empty handed. Leaning on a crutch because of his amputated leg, the 45-year-old looked exhausted.
"I can't find food for my kids," he said. "I can't find anything."
Desperation mounted for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as looting became more frequent this week. Some aid trucks were allowed in but were met with mobs of civilians looking for any food they can get their hands on and particularly flour.
Muhammad Shamlakh was at the scene when a truck was looted in Gaza City on Thursday. He said people were "eating each other alive."
"The people are dying of hunger," he said. "There's no flour, everything was stolen."
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