From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
New Gaza aid group says second distribution center now open, also in Rafah
Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it has successfully opened its second aid distribution center in Gaza, following the launch of its first site on Monday.
GHF “is continuing its operations today, opening another Safe Distribution Site and distributing aid without incident,” says the US-backed organization.
“The situation remains urgent. But every hour, more people are fed,” it adds.
According to the foundation, both sites are now fully operational.
Both are located in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
GHF says that the newly-opened site delivered “all available aid without incident — approximately 8 trucks worth.”
In total, GHF says it has distributed “approximately 14,550 food boxes,” or 840,262 meals across the two sites. Each box is intended to feed an average of 5.5 people for 3.5 days.
“Operations will continue scaling across all 4 sites, with plans to build additional sites across Gaza in the weeks ahead,” says the foundation.
Of the four planned centers, three will be located in Rafah, and the fourth will be slightly closer to the center of the Strip, south of the Netzarim Corridor.
Aid organizations have criticized the location of the sites, saying that the foundation is violating humanitarian principles by clustering them in one area, making them inaccessible to others across the enclave.
GHF, in its statement, also addresses what it calls false claims about the start of its operations, and reports of thousands of Gazans briefly overrunning the first distribution site yesterday.
GHF denies that the site was overrun or destroyed, and says it had “anticipated” coming under pressure “due to acute hunger and Hamas-imposed blockades, which create dangerous conditions outside the gates.”
“According to established protocol, for a brief moment, the GHF team intentionally relaxed its security protocols to safeguard against crowd reactions to finally receiving food,” it says of yesterday’s incident.
Responding to “misinformation circulating online,” the foundation stresses that no shots were fired toward the Palestinian crowds, and there were no casualties. It also says that no arrests were made, as “GHF has no detention or arrest authority.”
“As in all emergency response situations, particularly in conflict zones, this type of reaction from stressed beneficiary populations is expected and we remain prepared to continue providing life-saving assistance should disruptions occur,” says the group.
The Times of Israel Community.