Experts believe that, ultimately,

people made the long journey to south Gaza, many walking tens of kilometres in the scorching summer heat to reach a newly established aid distribution centre run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).Among them was Walaa Abu Sa’da (35), mother of three children who decided to go to Rafah by herself.

“My children were on the verge of starving. No milk, no food, not even baby formula. They cried day and night, and I had to beg neighbours for scraps,” Abu Sa’da toldWhile the previous United Nations-led distribution network operated about 400 sites across the Strip, the, guarded by armed private security contractors working for a US company, has set up only four “mega-sites” for Gaza’s population of about two million Palestinians.

Three of GHF’s distribution sites are in Rafah, situated within areas where the Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings. The fourth site is in Gaza City, near the boundary with Deir el-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering. None of the distribution points are located north of the Netzarim Corridor.The UN and aid groups say the GHF does not abide by humanitarian principles, accusing it of weaponising aid and warning that it could serve to depopulate northern Gaza, as planned by the Israeli military.

Large crowds subjected to security checks

As word spread, large crowds descended on the site, lining up in front of metal fences topped with surveillance cameras.But that announcement was

, not least for Israel’s decision to bypass traditional aid distribution networks, like those run by the United Nations.Instead, it tapped the

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation(GHF), a United States-backed nonprofit, to lead the effort.