US group distributing aid in Gaza delays reopening sites

CAIRO/JERUSALEM - A private company distributing aid in Gaza, backed by the US and Israel, had yet to reopen its distribution sites in the enclave by mid-morning on Thursday, a day after shutting them following a series of deadly shootings close to its operations.

The US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said that its sites would not open at their usual time due to maintenance and repair work. It did not say when aid distribution would resume.

A Palestinian father of four in Gaza's Khan Younis, who asked not to be identified over safety concerns, told Reuters the GHF site near Rafah in southern Gaza had not reopened by mid-morning.

GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The group, which has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, began distributing aid last week. The UN 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.

Meanwhile, Israel announced it had recovered the bodies of two dual nationality Israeli-American hostages from Gaza. Gadi Hagi and his wife Judy Weinstein-Hagi were killed and taken to Gaza after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war. Fifty-six hostages remain in captivity, with fewer than half believed to be alive.

The Israeli military has intensified its operations in Gaza since breaking a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in March, taking more territory with the government pushing to wipe out the militant group.

At least 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, including four journalists in a hospital strike in the enclave's north, local health authorities said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment

The renewed campaign has further isolated Israel amid mounting international pressure. On Wednesday, a US veto blocked a UN Security Council draft resolution, backed by the 14 other members, demanding an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and full, unrestricted aid access to Gaza.

Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led aid deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later, the relatively unknown GHF launched a new aid distribution system that bypasses traditional agencies.

SERIES OF SHOOTINGS The GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing the Israeli military to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days this week.

The exact details of what occurred remain unclear, but the Israeli military said its soldiers fired warning shots in each incident. GHF has said that aid was safely distributed from its sites without any incident.

The American organisation, which uses private US security and logistics companies to transport aid to its distribution sites inside Gaza from where it is collected, has said that it has so far distributed at least 7 million meals.

The UN and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral, militarizes aid and forces the displacement of Palestinians.

Muslims around the world will begin celebrating Eid al Adha from Thursday, a holiday that is typically marked by slaughtering livestock, but in Gaza food is scarce after nearly two years of war.

Samed, 32, a father of three sheltering with his family in Khan Younis, said he was waiting for the GHF site in Rafah to reopen so he could collect food for his children before Eid.

The GHF has so far established aid sites in southern and central Gaza but not in the north.

Navigating the territory is dangerous, with unexploded rockets and shells making it difficult for many to reach the aid distribution sites. For Palestinians in northern Gaza, cut off from the distribution points in the south, even that remains out of reach.

AID DISTRIBUTION

Footage released by the GHF this week showed hundreds of Palestinians crowding its site in Rafah, collecting aid from piles of stacked boxes without any clear system of distribution.

Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. On Wednesday, a Palestinian transportation company contracted by UN agencies suspended operations indefinitely after an armed gang intercepted its aid trucks in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, killing one driver and injuring another.

Israel and the US are urging the UN and governments to work through the GHF. But it is unclear who is funding the organisation, which this week named an evangelical Christian with ties to US President Donald Trump as its executive chairman.

The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack 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.