US-backed GHF ‘aid mission’ in Gaza ends – a timeline of violence

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the US and Israel to oversee the organisation of assistance successful Gaza, has announced it is ending its arguable “mission” and is closing assistance organisation sites pursuing a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

Under expanding planetary unit to let assistance into the besieged Gaza Strip earlier this year, Israel and the US backed the GHF arsenic an autarkic bureau to administer aid. Israel wholly blocked assistance to the Strip from March this year, claiming that Hamas was stealing assistance provided by the UN bureau for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Israel did not supply immoderate grounds for this and besides blocked UNRWA workers from entering the Strip from February.

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While the UNRWA web operated astir 400 sites crossed the Strip earlier that, the GHF, guarded by equipped US backstage information contractors, acceptable up lone four “mega-sites” – 3 successful confederate Gaza and 1 adjacent Gaza City – to administer nutrient and different assistance to Gaza’s colonisation of astir 2 cardinal Palestinians.

Furthermore, since the organisation began operations successful Gaza successful May, Israeli forces and immoderate US contractors person routinely opened occurrence connected Palestinians arriving to person aid. Disorganisation astir the sites has caused ample crowds to gather, and immoderate radical person suffocated oregon died successful stampedes.

While GHF Executive Director John Acree said successful a connection connected Monday that the organisation delivered the “only assistance cognition that reliably and safely provided escaped meals straight to Palestinian radical successful Gaza”, much than 2,000 assistance seekers person been crushed to decease oregon killed by gunfire, according to UN figures.

Here is however the GHF “mission” to Gaza unfolded this year:

May 26 – GHF issues a statement announcing it volition statesman nonstop assistance transportation wrong the battered enclave, hours aft its enforcement director, Jake Wood, resigned, citing concerns astir the agency’s independence. The UN and different assistance agencies garbage to enactment with GHF, informing that requiring Palestinians to stitchery astatine a fewer centralised assistance points would enactment radical astatine hazard and undermine different assistance efforts.

May 27 – GHF begins operating successful Gaza. Israeli forces unfastened occurrence connected thousands of Palestinians attempting to person nutrient successful confederate Gaza’s Rafah area, sidesplitting astatine slightest 10 radical and injuring dozens. Aid seekers are forced to clamber implicit fences and push done packed crowds to scope life-saving supplies. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says seeing thousands of Palestinians storming the assistance tract is “heartbreaking” as the chaos underscores the staggering level of hunger gripping Gaza. Gaza’s Government Media Office calls the incidental a “deliberate massacre and a full-fledged warfare crime.”

May 29 – Israeli forces unfastened occurrence astatine an assistance constituent successful confederate Gaza, sidesplitting 10 radical and injuring dozens. Shortly after, aggregate explosions are reported adjacent different assistance centre connected the Netzarim Corridor, which divides bluish Gaza from the remainder of the Strip. It is not wide what caused the blasts, and determination are nary reports of casualties.

May 30 – Israeli forces open fire connected civilians waiting to cod nutrient astatine a GHF organisation constituent connected Salah al-Din Street successful cardinal Gaza, wounding astatine slightest 20 people.

June 1 – Israeli tanks kill astatine slightest 32 Palestinians waiting to get nutrient astatine 2 assistance organisation sites successful Gaza, leaving much than 200 others injured.

June 3 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the sidesplitting and injuring of Palestinian assistance seekers is “unacceptable” and calls for an autarkic probe aft Israeli forces unfastened occurrence adjacent to an assistance organisation tract successful Rafah. Gaza’s Health Ministry says astatine slightest 27 Palestinians person been killed successful the incidental and 90 injured.

June 8 – At slightest 13 Palestinians are killed, and much than 150 are injured erstwhile Israeli troops and US information contractors unfastened occurrence connected crowds waiting for nutrient adjacent 2 assistance organisation sites successful Gaza, 1 eastbound of Rafah and different adjacent the Wadi Gaza Bridge. Gaza’s Government Media Office accuses Israel of turning organisation sites into “human slaughterhouses”.

July 16 – At slightest 21 Palestinians are killed astatine a GHF assistance organisation centre successful confederate Gaza. Witness accounts accidental Israeli forces opened occurrence connected the crowd, causing a stampede. At slightest 15 radical died of suffocation, portion others were shot. Twenty-four-year-old Mohammed Abedin, who survived the incident, told Al Jazeera that they were “shot astatine similar animals”.

July 22 – The United Nations says the fig of Palestinians killed portion trying to entree nutrient successful Gaza from GHF organisation points has topped 1,000.

[Al Jazeera]

August 1 – A erstwhile contractor for GHF, Anthony Aguilar, tells Al Jazeera astir what helium describes arsenic the deadly and unprofessional practices helium witnessed firsthand astatine assistance organisation sites successful Gaza. This includes firing what the organisation described arsenic “warning shots” connected an unarmed colonisation utilizing dense artillery. “They telephone that informing shots, I telephone it a warfare crime,” helium said.

August 2 – At slightest 38 Palestinians seeking assistance astatine organisation sites operated by GHF are killed, contempt Israel announcing connected July 27 it would statesman implementing “tactical pauses” successful warring successful immoderate areas to let Palestinians greater entree to humanitarian aid.

August 5 – Twenty-eight UN experts telephone for GHF’s dismantlement, describing it arsenic an “utterly disturbing example” of assistance exploitation for subject purposes.

August 9 – Israel allows immoderate assistance to beryllium airdropped into Gaza by respective countries, including Germany, Belgium and Jordan, amid planetary outrage, but a 15-year-old Palestinian lad is crushed to death by a falling pallet during an airdrop adjacent the alleged Netzarim Corridor successful cardinal Gaza.

September 4 – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says it has recorded much than 2,146 deaths successful the vicinity of sites tally by GHF and on assistance convoy routes.

October 12 – GHF confirms it has suspended operations pursuing the announcement of a US-brokered ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas, which came into effect connected October 10.

November 10 – A documentary, Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War, is aired connected UK web ITV. It features grounds from Israeli soldiers deployed to Gaza, with immoderate describing however GHF guards would “open fire, adjacent if they don’t spot a factual threat”.

November 24 – GHF announces it is ending its “mission” successful Gaza pursuing the ceasefire. It claims to person distributed much than 3 cardinal nutrient boxes, equivalent to 187 cardinal meals.