Tehran – The aid delivery system set up by a US-backed company where Gaza collapsed has sparked international condemnation.
An American company appointed by the Israeli occupation regime distributed food to the enclaves, and soon lost control of the site.
On Tuesday, a massive amount of stampedes and severe overcrowding occurred near Rafa on the first day of operations. The next day, an Israeli shootout targeted Palestinians in the region, resulting in the death of one hungry civilian and wounding around 50 others.
The subsequent chaos left the sites severely damaged and forced a sudden distribution.
Witnesses and media reports explain scenes of despair, with hundreds of thousands of starving Palestinians flocking to the area after nearly 90 days of being cut off from essential supplies.
Amidst the obstacle, Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) fired near the distribution point. A reporter on the ground says IOF helicopters and tanks also fired fire at the crowd at the aid hub.
The Hebrew media later confirmed that the troops “fired heavily” as Gazan ran through the compound. A report from Yedioth Ahronoth said security staff contracted by the American company were overwhelmed by the crowd and abandoned the property.
The breakdown prompted immediate backlash from the government media office in Gaza, labeling the entire initiative as “systematic policies that perpetuate starvation.”
In a harsh statement, the office said the image of a desperate Palestinian “incubating food under the overwhelming weight of a deadly hunger” exposed “the complete collapse of the so-called humanitarian process.”
“This is unanswered evidence that occupations that did not manage deliberately created humanitarian catastrophe have failed,” the agency added, denounced the use of aid as “a weapon of war and a weapon of political tor.”
The statement denied any form of humanitarian access, including buffer zones or corridors controlled by the IOF, and urged the United Nations to immediately open unlimited intersections and allow independent relief efforts.
International responses were also fast and extremely important.
The United Nations has called for the scene of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site “the heartbreaking.”
A spokesman for Executive Director Antonio Guterres said the US Israeli model for providing assistance does not meet the fundamental humanitarian principles of independence and equity.
The UN aid authorities added that what is urgently needed is the reopening of all border crossings and unlimited access for established humanitarian agencies.
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Ahmed Beiram urged the US and Israel to abandon the initiative altogether. “This is not aid,” he said.
“It’s a performance of suffering. The right to occupation, which destroys Rapha and invites people to seek distribution, has no moral authority to lead humanitarian operations.”
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian reflected these sentiments. Spokesman Jens Laerke described the measure as a “distraction” that politicized aid, warning that hunger is looming in Gaza.
Juliet Tuma, communications director for the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency, said there are large medical cargoes waiting to be denied entry to Gaza.
“In addition to food, there are over 3,000 medicines lined up in places like Jordan, like Egypt, waiting for the green light to come in.
UN Aid Chief Tom Fletcher previously called the mechanism “fig leaf for further violence,” emphasising that it violates international norms and undermines long-standing humanitarian protocols.
Reports reveal that GHF’s widely publicized food plots are small and nutritionally inadequate.
The humanitarian crisis deepened as Palestinians streamed through military checkpoints in desperate attempts to find food.
The sounds of shootings mixed with the cry of hungry civilians underscored the severe collapse of US and Israeli aid programs. This is an initiative that many now see as yet another tool for siege rather than as a relief.