At least five people were killed and dozens more injured Saturday during a chaotic humanitarian aid delivery in the Gaza Strip as thousands of civilians rushed for food from trucks before dawn.
Witnesses told Agence France-Presse that Palestinians overseeing the aid delivery of some 15 trucks of flour and other food shot into the air to quell the thousands of people swarming the aid convoy in Gaza City's Kuwait roundabout.
Israeli troops in the area also opened fire, and some trucks hit pedestrians, according to the Palestine Red Crescent.
The Red Crescent said three of the five killed had been shot.
AFP video shows a convoy of trucks moving quickly past burning debris near the distribution point as people shouted and gunfire echoed — some of which were warning shots, witnesses said.
The roundabout has been the scene of several chaotic and deadly aid distribution incidents, including one on March 23 in which the Hamas-run government said 21 people were killed by Israeli gunfire — a charge Israel denied.
AFP contacted the Israeli military for comment.
A U.N.-backed report warned on March 19 that half of Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory unless there is urgent intervention.
The report estimated that 1.1 million people — nearly half the population, according to United Nations data — were facing catastrophic conditions.
The situation is particularly dire in the north of Gaza, where the United Nations says there are about 300,000 people — and where the report said famine was "imminent ... projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May."
Aid coming by sea
A three-ship convoy left Cyprus’ Larnaca port Saturday to deliver 400 tons of food and other supplies to Gaza.
The nonprofit humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen says the vessels are carrying ready-to-eat items that are enough to prepare more than 1 million meals.
World Central Kitchen, which has been active in Gaza for months, organized the mission with Spain's Open Arms charity and financing mainly from the United Arab Emirates and support from Cypriot authorities.
This is its second dispatch of aid to Gaza through Cyprus. The aid is going to Gaza on a cargo ship and a barge towed by a salvage vessel, along with a tugboat carrying a support team on a journey that will take about 60 hours, a Cypriot official told Reuters.
Cypriot authorities in cooperation with Israel have established a maritime corridor to facilitate pre-screened cargo arriving directly to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
A ship inaugurated the direct sea route to the Palestinian territory earlier this month with 200 tons of food, water and other aid.
Separately, the United States plans to construct a floating pier off Gaza for aid delivery. The target for completion is May 1, but it could be ready sooner, by around April 15, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said late Friday, citing briefings with U.S. officials earlier in the week.
Aid agencies say food delivered by sea to Gaza, although welcome, cannot meet people's needs, and they have urged Israel to allow more aid to arrive by land.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Saturday that the "famine" in Gaza can be tackled within a short time if Israel opened the land crossings for aid to enter. Safadi made the comments during a news conference with his Egyptian and French counterparts in Cairo.
U.N. officials have accused Israel of blocking humanitarian supplies to Gaza. Israeli officials reject those accusations and say the delivery of aid once inside the territory is the responsibility of U.N. and humanitarian agencies.
Some information was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
