Friday Briefing: The Deadly Search for Food in Gaza
It has become deadly to seek food in Gaza
Since a new Israeli-backed aid system began a month ago, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed near distribution hubs in southern Gaza, according to Gaza health officials.
Jens Laerke, a U.N. spokesman, described the new aid hubs as 'death traps.'
'Gaza is the hungriest place on earth,' he said. 'When we are able to bring anything in, it's getting plundered immediately by the population. That's the level of desperation.'
Other aid efforts have also been engulfed in chaos. The U.N. and other international organizations have been delivering a trickle of food handouts in northern Gaza. Desperate crowds have been ransacking the trucks, which carry flour and other goods, minutes after they enter the enclave, according to witnesses.
Background: The new aid system, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has only a few operational hubs, primarily in the south. It was put in place after Israel blocked aid deliveries to Gaza for nearly three months, from March to May.
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