ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
A U.S.-backed group says it has delivered more than 1.8 million meals to Palestinians in its first three days operating in Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing food parcels in a few sites in the south of the territory after Israel lifted its nearly three-month blockade. The U.N. and aid groups say Israel's new system is inadequate and, quote, "a weaponization of aid" at a time of extreme hunger there. As NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi reports, some civilians are also describing chaos at the sites.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Iyad al-Jaloos heard that the new system was starting to hand out boxes of food. After nearly three months of Israel's total blockade of aid, it was hopeful news. NPR producer Ahmed Abuhamda spoke to Jaloos by phone. He's sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis.
IYAD AL-JALOOS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "I have nothing to eat," Jaloos says. "I was hoping that one of the boxes could tide us over for a few days." The 55-year-old is a father of eight. Before the war, he was a computer programmer. His whole family now sleeps in one room in a relative's house. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, set up a distribution site about 7 miles away from there. GHF is the new U.S.-backed organization that Israel is allowing to handle nearly all food distribution in Gaza. Yet they only distribute food in Gaza's south. GHF hasn't publicly disclosed where their funding is from and didn't respond to an NPR inquiry. Jaloos says early this morning, he and his brother set out for one of the three sites.
AL-JALOOS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "We set our alarms for 6 in the morning to get going and put our trust in God." He says as he got closer, he heard shots being fired. He describes an incredible scene.
AL-JALOOS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: Mobs, people stomping over each other and people gasping for breath - he says it was chaos.
AL-JALOOS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "There were no lists of names or IDs," he says. He thought it would be more organized. People were grabbing as many boxes as they could, he says. Witnesses in the first two days of operations reported shots fired and dozens of injuries. In a press statement today, GHF said any reports of chaos was, quote, "misinformation." Yet later, GHF reported warning shots and smoke were used at one site to disperse a crowd. NPR spoke to a second person at another GHF site - 39-year-old Alaa Abulyaas.
ALAA ABULYAAS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "They opened the gates, and you could even take 10 boxes," Abulyaas says. Israel says Hamas steals aid. It says the new system will stop that and will weaken the militant group's control in Gaza. The United Nations denies that there has been widespread diversion of aid. Abulyaas says the surging crowd scared him.
ABULYAAS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "Just as I turned away, that's when the fence collapsed," he says. Abulyaas walked away empty-handed, just like father of eight, Iyad al-Jaloos. Jaloos says his kids believed the boxes had treats.
AL-JALOOS: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "They heard that there were chocolates and ramen noodles." Jaloos says he had to break their hearts. He had nothing. His family keeps asking him, are you going back again tomorrow?
AL-SHALCHI: "I go hungry, I come back hungry," he says. "Where am I supposed to get the energy to keep making the trip?" Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
(SOUNDBITE OF JONUFF'S "CROW") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
