After the chaos that erupted on Tuesday at one of the two food distribution centers opened in the Gaza Strip, just hours after it began operating, Reuters published a statement purportedly from the American foundation GHF, allegedly announcing a "temporary suspension" of aid distribution due to public disorder.
However, shortly afterward, GHF claimed the announcement was “fake news” spread by individuals posing as the foundation within Hamas, who even created a fake social media page for this purpose.
A few hours after the false announcement, hundreds of Gazans stormed a Hamas warehouse in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp on Salah al-Din Street in central Gaza, seizing large quantities of flour sacks. Five of them were shot dead.
"The situation remains urgent. But every hour, more people are fed. More dignity is restored. More hope is delivered. We are here. We are working. And we are grateful to those standing beside us to get life-saving aid directly into the hands of the people of Gaza," GHF said.
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A resident of Gaza carrying a package with basic products from the humanitarian aid distribution center
(Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana / AP)
"As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid, Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven, told Reuters. "I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance (Hamas) said not to go," he said. Hamas claimed the American foundation distributing the humanitarian aid in Gaza was an arm of Israel and called on residents of the Strip not to receive food there.
Distribution is expected to continue until 6 PM, and on Thursday, the centers will be open from 9 AM to 6 PM. The aid packages include basic products such as sugar, flour, pasta, salt, oil and biscuits. Most of the products originate from Turkey, but in the aid distributed on Tuesday, packages also included Israeli products.
After distribution began, prices in the Gaza markets dropped after they saw a 200% spike. In the northern areas of the Strip, where no distribution of aid was taking place, market prices remained high.
Ahmed told Reuters that he walked for 10 kilometers (over 6 miles) to reach the distribution area. He was standing in line when the chaos began, so he did not receive a full package of aid, although he has eight mouths to feed. "Before the war, my fridge used to be full of meat, chicken, dairy, soft drinks, everything, and now I am begging for a loaf of bread," Abu Ahmed told Reuters via a chat app.
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"It is heavy," another man who received the full package of aid said. he carried the 50-kilogram (110 lbs.) package, but it tore on the way. He said he packed the products in his clothes.
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Gaza residents carrying basic products from the humanitarian aid distribution center
(Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana / AP)
Mohammed Salah, a Gaza dentist, said the masses that went to receive the American aid exceeded expectations and the organization lost control. Only a few were able to get food packages, he said.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on Wednesday that Israel's model for providing aid to Gaza was wasteful and a "distraction from atrocities." He criticised the chaotic distribution by the U.S.-backed foundation.
"The model of aid distribution proposed by Israel does not align with core humanitarian principles Lazzarini told reporters at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.
First published: 15:32, 05.28.25