NewsHail
28 May 2025
Thousands of people in Gaza rushed into an aid site run by a group backed by the US and Israel. This happened in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.
Videos show people climbing over fences to reach the aid. The group, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), said the crowd was so large their team had to step back. Israeli soldiers nearby fired warning shots.
The GHF gives out food without working with the UN. The group uses armed American guards and wants to stop Hamas from taking the aid. But many aid groups say GHF's plan is unsafe and unfair. They say it makes people move, puts them at risk, and breaks key aid rules.
The UN says it has a safe plan to give aid to all 2.1 million people in Gaza. It called the videos from Rafah "heartbreaking." Experts say famine is near after an 11-week Israeli blockade, which was only recently eased.
GHF says it has given out 462,000 meals. But they blame Hamas for delays at one site. Hamas denies blocking people.
Many people at the aid site said it was chaos. One man said only 50 people were let in at a time, which led to panic and fighting. A woman said people are starving and will risk anything to feed their kids.
Israeli soldiers said they shot warning shots but kept control. The UN and other aid groups say they won’t work with GHF because it doesn’t follow rules of fairness and neutrality.
GHF’s leader quit, saying the plan couldn’t meet aid standards. But GHF says critics don’t really want to help and are just defending the old system. They also say Hamas threatened the local groups helping them.
Israel says a new aid system is needed so Hamas can’t take the food. Hamas says it doesn’t steal aid.
Israel blocked all aid and goods to Gaza on March 2. It restarted attacks two weeks later to pressure Hamas to release 58 hostages. As of now, 23 are thought to still be alive.
On May 19, Israel expanded its attacks. Prime Minister Netanyahu said they want to control all of Gaza and move people from the north to the south. He agreed to let in some food to avoid famine after pressure from the US.
Since then, Israel says it has sent in 665 truckloads of aid. But over 400 trucks are still waiting to be picked up in Gaza. The UN says it's hard to collect the aid because it’s not safe, and there are problems working with Israeli troops.
The UN says half a million people in Gaza may starve soon.
The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Since then, more than 54,000 people have died in Gaza, including nearly 4,000 in the last 10 weeks.
