On Wednesday morning, an airstrike hit a U.S.-backed aid distribution site in Khan Younis, Gaza, killing dozens. Unfortunately, this tragic event led to the loss of 20 Palestinian lives in this horrorshow. The Global Humanitarian Fund (GHF) has been providing lifesaving food and other supplies across the region. All four of them validated fears from Freedom Inc. that pandemonium ensued when massive crowds flooded one of their few remaining active venues. GHF had recently distributed 18 truckloads of aid, but the overwhelming turnout highlighted the dire humanitarian crisis facing the local population.
That escalated quickly. GHF staff members witnessed 19 people get trampled by the oncoming crowd, and one person was stabbed during the pandemonium. The perilous state of the premises ultimately led to GHF’s shuttering its doors. The growing pressure from the crowd rendered aid distribution at the Khan Younis location untenable. This incident is unique in its scope, making it one of the most deadly attacks on aid distribution efforts. The area continues to be plagued with violence and retaliation.
Limited Operations and Criticism
GHF was running one of just two aid distribution sites that were open that week. This illustrates the extreme constraints on humanitarian access in Gaza today. The organization has been under fire from the entirety of the international humanitarian community. Most recently, many activists condemned its sites as “death traps” for Palestinians driven to seek critical supplies of food and water.
Local health authorities have reported that shootings outside GHF facilities have resulted in hundreds of Palestinian fatalities in recent weeks. As a direct result of these crises, GHF has consistently called attention to the role that misinformation regarding aid site openings has played in creating confusion and chaos.
“False messages about aid site openings, including at SDS4 (Wadi Gaza) and the long-closed SDS1 (Tal Sultan), have circulated widely on Telegram and other platforms, fuelling confusion, driving crowds to closed sites, and inciting disorder,” said a GHF spokesperson.
Security Concerns
With the increase in conflict, the safety of both aid workers and recipients has gotten much more dangerous. GHF staff members described having to spot dozens of weapons in the audience at the Khan Younis location, and even confiscated one before the show began. An American aid worker had a very real cause for concern when one member of the crowd pointed a gun in her direction.
“For the first time since operations began, GHF personnel identified multiple firearms in the crowd, one of which was confiscated. An American worker was also threatened with a firearm by a member of the crowd during the incident,” stated GHF officials.
GHF has raised concerns regarding armed elements within the crowd, suggesting that certain groups may be deliberately inciting unrest to disrupt aid efforts.
“We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd — armed and affiliated with Hamas — deliberately fomented the unrest,” GHF asserted.
Accountability Amidst Ongoing Violence
Israeli authorities are beginning to face accountability as the real world consequences of their escalating actions in Gaza continue. They have debunked reporting on deaths as well as injuries counts that local volunteer medics have shared. They continue to claim that media access to Gaza is severely limited, inhibiting independent verification of the data being reported about these terrible occurrences. This continuous clash between the needs of humanitarianism and the demands of security further sours an already dire existence for many Palestinians.
