Overcrowding forces halt to Gaza aid distribution, Eid holiday marked by violence

By Crispian Balmer and Nidal al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) - Aid distribution in Gaza was halted on Friday after the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations, in the latest disruption to its troubled relief effort.

With severe food shortages plaguing the coastal enclave, fighting continued in many areas of the Gaza Strip.

Local health authorities said 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes, mostly in northern Gaza, while the Israeli army said four of its soldiers were killed and five were wounded by an explosion in a building in Khan Younis to the south.

In a day of confusing messaging, the GHF first announced its distribution sites in southern Gaza were closed, then it revealed that it had actually handed out food, before saying that it had had to close its gates as a precautionary measure.

"The distribution was conducted peacefully and without incident; however, it was paused due to excessive crowding that made it unsafe to proceed," it said in a statement.

As Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip marked the start of one of Islam's most important holidays, Eid al-Adha, Israeli forces continued military operations that they say are needed to root out and destroy Hamas militants.

The Israeli military was rocked by the deaths of four soldiers in a booby-trapped building, which brought the army death toll to eight since the start of June.

"It is a sad and difficult day," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

The army earlier issued new evacuation orders for areas in and around Gaza City, warning of an imminent attack.

With many residential areas of Gaza reduced to rubble by months of fighting, locals held Eid al-Adha prayer services in the open, next to bombed-out mosques and homes.

"As you can see, we are holding Eid prayers, while the bombing, shelling and planes are ongoing," said one woman, Umm Mahmoud, in Khan Younis.

The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral.

It suspended operations on Wednesday and asked the Israeli military to review security protocols after hospital officials said more than 80 people had been shot dead and hundreds wounded near distribution points between June 1-3.

RESTRICTIONS ON MOVEMENT

Eyewitness blamed Israeli soldiers for the killings. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots on two days, while on Tuesday it said soldiers had fired at Palestinian "suspects" who were advancing towards their positions.

The army said on Friday that Gazans should only move to and from the GHF distribution centres from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Outside daylight hours these access routes should be considered a closed military zone.

"Entering it poses a significant risk to your life," military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X.

However, many Gazans say they have to walk for hours to reach the sites, meaning they have to start traveling well before dawn if they are to stand any chance of receiving food.

Palestinians have described the distribution process as chaotic and poorly organised, and say limited supplies have led to early morning crushes on access routes.

On Friday, the GHF said it had delivered 8,160 boxes of food, providing approximately 471,240 individual meals.

Since launching its operations, the GHF has opened three sites, but over the past two days, only two of them have been functioning. A promised site in northern Gaza has yet to open.

Israel's latest offensive in Gaza follows the breakdown of a two-month ceasefire in March.

The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in a surprise attack in October 2023, and took 251 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

(Writing by Crispian Balmer. Reporting by Ahmed Elimam and Jana Choukeir in Dubai and Alexander Cornwell in Tel Aviv and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; editing by Alex Richardson, Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)