Deadly chaos at Gaza aid distribution as WHO renews hospital warning

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GAZA CITY – An aid delivery in Gaza descended into chaos on Saturday with shots fired and a Red Crescent paramedic reporting five dead, as almost six months of Israeli bombardment has left hundreds of thousands in desperate need.
Israel’s siege, sparked by a deadly militant attack on October 7, brings nightly air strikes and in recent days major operations around several hospitals, which it says are used by Palestinian militant groups — claims denied by Hamas.
The World Health Organization warned that Gaza had just 10 “minimally functioning” hospitals for its more than two million people, with its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying around 9,000 patients urgently needed treatment abroad.
UN agencies have warned repeatedly that northern Gaza is on the verge of famine and called it a man-made crisis because aid lorries are backed up on the Egypt-Gaza border awaiting long checks by Israeli officials. Israel has denied responsibility.
Two charities have organised aid deliveries by sea from Cyprus, with their second mission in just over two weeks setting sail on Saturday.
 
Organisers said the flotilla, which had been repeatedly delayed by bad weather, was carrying around 400 tonnes of supplies, a fraction of Gaza’s needs.
The top UN court has ordered Israel to allow in aid and the UN Security Council has adopted a resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire” but neither has affected the situation on the ground.
Israel and Hamas have been unable to agree a truce in indirect talks in Qatar, with each side blaming the other.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the go-ahead Friday for a new round of talks with negotiators expected to resume their work on Monday.
Witnesses told AFP shots were fired both by Gazans overseeing the aid delivery and Israeli troops nearby, and panicked lorry drivers drove quickly away, hitting people trying to get the food. The Israeli military told AFP it had “no record of the incident described”.
Aid deliveries have become increasingly fraught as the needs of Gazans increase.