Two humanitarian aid distribution centers officially began operations in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, marking the start of the U.S.-led initiative to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to the coastal enclave.
The centers, located in the Tel al-Sultan area of the southernmost Strip and the Morag Corridor between Khan Yunis and Rafah, are managed by international NGOs and secured by an American security company.
The centers began “distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip” on Tuesday, the IDF said, noting that two more aid distribution points will be opened as part of the American initiative.
Amid widespread reports of overcrowding, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced that its security team at one of the sites “fell back” on Tuesday to allow “a small number” of Palestinian looters to take food packages, adding that normal operations have resumed.
The decision to temporarily withdraw “was done in accordance with GHF protocol to avoid casualties,” the NGO stressed. Approximately 8,000 food boxes were distributed on Tuesday, totaling 462,000 meals.
The Israeli army in a statement said that its troops “fired warning shots in the area outside the compound” as it was overrun by Palestinians.
“Control over the situation was established, food distribution operations are expected to continue as planned, and the safety of IDF troops was not compromised,” the IDF stressed.
The opening followed months of preparation, with Jerusalem working closely with the Trump administration to facilitate the move, according to the military. The effort involved the IDF, the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), humanitarian groups, and the American security firm now operating on the ground.
“The IDF will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, while making every possible effort to ensure that the aid does not reach the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization,” stated the army.
Each distribution center is located within a secured compound, isolated by earthen berms, a logistic route for the entry of trucks and an area to unload supplies, according to a Monday report by Israel’s Kan News.
American contractor personnel will distribute food packages directly to Palestinian civilians, taking into account massive queues, with Israeli soldiers guarding the compound from afar, according to Kan.
The Israeli military said that each package contains sufficient food for five persons for five days, and that each distribution center will provide enough food for approximately 300,000 Palestinian noncombatants.
The launch of the U.S.-supported aid distribution network was delayed amid looting, logistical setbacks and other last-minute complications, officials in Jerusalem told Hebrew media outlets over the weekend.
Israel had hoped the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation would begin distributing aid supplies directly to Palestinians as early as Saturday.
A total of 170 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza throughout the day on Monday through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, according to the COGAT, which said the vehicles carried food, medical supplies and pharmaceutical drugs.
According to intelligence gathered by the IDF’s Southern Command and revealed by Army Radio on May 18, every aid truck that is taken over by Hamas pays for the monthly salaries of an entire terrorist brigade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told journalists at a press conference last week that Hamas “shoots Palestinian civilians who want to leave for safe zones, and it shoots Palestinian civilians who want to prevent Hamas terrorists from looting the aid trucks intended for them.”
“Since Oct. 7, Israel has sent 92,000 aid trucks into Gaza,” stated the Israeli leader, adding: “As we had let the aid come in, Hamas stole it. They took a huge chunk for themselves. The rest they sold at exorbitant prices to the Palestinian population. And then they used the money they stole to recruit new terrorists to continue their war against Israel.”
“Our goal from the start was to get food to Palestinian civilians, not to Palestinian terrorists,” Netanyahu declared, emphasizing that around 10% of the aid trucks that had recently entered Gaza had been taken over by Hamas.