“It appears Israeli army fire caused most of the injuries,” Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation depot—an Israeli- and U.S.-backed operation meant to take over large-scale deliveries—had opened the previous day. An Associated Press journalist at the scene heard tank and small-arms fire and saw a military helicopter releasing flares as crowds tore through fencing in search of food.
The UN and other relief agencies have rejected the new system, arguing it cannot meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and lets Israel “use food as a weapon” by controlling access.
Israel says the hub is intended to speed aid flows after nearly three months of blockade that have pushed the enclave to the brink of famine.
No Israeli casualties were reported. The Israeli military said it was “reviewing the incident.”
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Source: AP News, BBC, The Guardian