Deaths in rush on UN aid warehouse in Gaza

A rush on a large warehouse of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the Gaza Strip has resulted in several deaths, Palestinian sources said on Wednesday.

Medical sources at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah reported that two people were fatally crushed in the dense crowd, and two others were killed by gunfire.

The WFP confirmed the rush on a warehouse of the organization in the centre of the embattled Gaza Strip. “Hordes of hungry people” reportedly entered the warehouse to access the “food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution,” according to a statement published on X.

The UN organization initially reported two deaths and many injuries in the incident.

Eyewitnesses reported that there was particularly heavy crowding at the main gate of the warehouse. There were also reports that some people tore down parts of the metal walls to gain access to the warehouse. Videos on social media showed many people storming and looting the warehouse amid loud shouting.

In light of a months-long blockade of aid by Israel, which was only recently slightly eased, many people in the coastal strip are in a desperate situation. There have already been reports in recent days of looting and a rush on a new distribution centre there.

The WFP has “consistently warned of alarming and deteriorating conditions on the ground, and the risks imposed by limiting humanitarian aid to hungry people in desperate need of assistance,” it stated. “Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve.”