1 day ago
10
Briefing|Gaza’s Deadly Aid Deliveries
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/briefing/gaza-aid-shootings.html
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Israel’s decision to change how food is distributed in Gaza hasn’t just been disruptive — it has been deadly.
Last week, the military empowered private, mostly American contractors to deliver aid. They began getting food to some Gazans after an Israeli blockade stopped supplies for nearly three months.
The war has decimated farmland that once grew wheat and olives, and without crops or food shipments, Gaza has become the “hungriest place on Earth,” according to the U.N. As the first cardboard boxes of food arrived, people sprinted, scaled barriers and joined surging crowds to get them. And Israeli troops stationed near the aid sites have repeatedly opened fire. Nearly 50 people have been killed and dozens wounded, according to Red Cross officials.
All of the new sites suspended operations today, and Gazans are desperate for food and water. Below, I explain what is happening and why.
A new program
For most of the war, experienced groups like the United Nations have distributed aid. It has been contentious.
Aid groups say their work has been unsafe and constrained: Israel has targeted aid convoys and facilities that it erroneously determined to be a threat and repeatedly blocked deliveries. At the same time, Israel said some aid workers had ties to Hamas. And it claimed that Hamas had diverted many of the supplies. (That couldn’t be verified by The Times, and the U.N. said it was exaggerated.)
