Deadly break in at UN warehouse as aid trickles into Gaza

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, James Mackenzie and Michelle Nichols

CAIRO/JERUSALEM/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A United Nations warehouse in war-torn Gaza was broken into by "hordes of hungry people" on Wednesday as aid trickles into the Palestinian enclave on the brink of famine and the United States readies new terms for a possible truce between Israel and Hamas.

The World Food Programme said initial reports were that two people had died and several more were injured at the central Gaza warehouse. The U.N. agency appealed for an immediate scale-up of food aid "to reassure people that they will not starve."

Under growing international pressure, Israel ended an 11-week long aid blockade on Gaza 10 days ago. It has allowed a limited amount of relief to be delivered via two avenues - the United Nations or the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

U.N. Middle East envoy Sigrid Kaag told the Security Council that the amount of aid Israel had so far allowed the U.N. to deliver was "comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk" when everyone in Gaza was facing the risk of famine.

The United States has been trying to broker a ceasefire. Israel - which resumed its military operation in Gaza in March after a brief truce - continued strikes on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people, Palestinian health officials said.

"We are on the precipice of sending out a new term sheet that hopefully will be delivered later on today," U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Wednesday. "The president is going to review it."

The war in Gaza was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

UN VS GHF

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel's killing of Hamas Gaza chief Mohammad Sinwar marked a turn towards the "complete defeat of Hamas", adding that Israel was "taking control of food distribution" in Gaza.

Israel has accused Hamas of diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied stealing aid.

At the United Nations, more than half the Security Council called on Wednesday for the 15-member body to act on Gaza. Slovenia's U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar said some members are working on a draft resolution to demand unimpeded aid access.

"Remaining silent is not an option," he told the council.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told the Security Council that Israel would allow aid deliveries "for the immediate future" via both the U.N. and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which began aid deliveries on Monday.

However, Israel ultimately wants the U.N. to work through the GHF, which is using private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution by civilian teams at so-called secure distribution sites.

"The U.N. should put their ego aside and cooperate with the new mechanism," Danon told reporters before the council meeting.

The U.N. and other international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say the plan is not neutral.

"This new scheme is surveillance-based rationing that legitimizes a policy of deprivation by design," senior U.N. aid official for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jonathan Whittall, told reporters in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

"The U.N. has refused to participate in this scheme, warning that it is logistically unworkable and violates humanitarian principles by using aid as a tool in Israel's broader efforts to depopulate areas of Gaza," he said.

WARNING SHOTS

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told Reuters it was "sad and disgusting" that the U.N. and other groups would not work with the GHF, describing the foundation's aid distribution as "effective so far."

The Israeli military on Tuesday said it fired warning shots in the area outside a GHF distribution site, which was briefly rushed by people waiting for aid. Footage shared on social media showed fences broken down by crowds as private security contractors fell back before restoring order.

"I am a big man, but I couldn't hold back my tears when I saw the images of women, men and children racing for some food," said Rabah Rezik, 65, a father of seven from Gaza City.

The United Nations human rights office said on Wednesday that 47 people had been injured on Tuesday while seeking aid from the GHF, citing information from partners on the ground. It could not give a specific location of where people were injured. The GHF said no one was injured at the distribution site.

The foundation said aid distribution continued on Wednesday without incident as it opened a second distribution hub. Across the two sites it has so far given out the equivalent of 840,262 meals. The GHF said it is working to open four sites and expand further in Gaza in the weeks ahead.

The United Nations said that since aid deliveries resumed last week Israel had approved about 800 truckloads of relief.

But U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that fewer than 500 truckloads had made it to the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, "where we and our partners could collect just over 200 of them – limited by insecurity and restricted access."

Israel is under pressure over Gaza's dire humanitarian situation. France, Britain, Canada and Germany have said they may take action if the military campaign is not halted. Italy on Wednesday said the offensive had become unacceptable.

(Additional reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva and Steven Scheer in Jerusalem; Writing by James Mackenzie and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Daniel Wallis)