Suffocation, stampede, death: Tragedy at Gaza’s aid centre

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip – Eighteen-year-old Hani Hammad ne'er imagined that his regular hunt for flour would extremity with him suffocating and being trampled.

On Wednesday morning, helium near his structure successful the al-Mawasi country of confederate Gaza’s Khan Younis, wherever he’s been displaced from Rafah on with his 7 siblings, heading to a nutrient organisation constituent tally by the much-criticised, United States-backed GHF.

“We near astatine dawn and stood among the thousands gathered. About 5am [02:00 GMT], they [US unit and Israeli army] signalled to unfastened the gate, and radical rushed forward,” Hani told Al Jazeera.

“The gross was open, but radical were packed into a precise constrictive corridor starring to it – lone astir 7 metres wide,” helium said, struggling to drawback his enactment aft arriving astatine Nasser Hospital gasping and hardly conscious.

“I got successful with the assemblage with difficulty. Suddenly, American guards started spraying capsicum spray and firing state bombs, and radical began stampeding done the corridor,” helium added.

Hani Hamad was rushed unconscious to Nasser Hospital aft the stampede adjacent an assistance tract tally by the arguable GHF [Abdullah Attar/Al Jazeera]

‘I collapsed. They trampled my face.’

“I felt similar I was dying. I couldn’t determination guardant oregon backwards. I collapsed. My look and broadside were trampled. No 1 could propulsion maine out. But God gave maine a 2nd chance,” Hani said.

He was rushed unconscious to Nasser Hospital successful Khan Younis connected a tuk-tuk and initially placed beside the bodies of others who had died, immoderate from suffocation, others from slug wounds.

“I was unconscious, couldn’t spot oregon hear. I drifted successful and out. They enactment maine beside the dead. I thought I was 1 of them.”

Early Wednesday, 21 Palestinians were killed, including 15 by suffocation, portion trying to cod nutrient aid.

The incidental occurred adjacent a gross managed by the GHF successful occidental Khan Younis. Dozens much were reportedly injured, with immoderate inactive successful intensive care.

Hani is the oldest of 8 siblings who unrecorded adjacent to their uncle’s structure – their parents stay successful Jordan, wherever they travelled for aesculapian attraction conscionable a period earlier the warfare began.

“I consciousness similar I transportation a immense burden. We’ve endured the pressures of displacement and warfare without our parents and without immoderate assistance from them,” helium said.

Though helium acknowledges that lining up for assistance from the GHF is simply a large regular risk, helium adds: “Our aggravated hunger pushes maine to spell each day.”

“There’s nary different choice. I person nary wealth to bargain the overpriced goods disposable successful the markets. My lone enactment is to effort my luck with assistance distributions,” says the young man.

“Each clip is simply a near-death experience. There’s gunfire, tanks, drones and attacks. What benignant of assistance organisation is this? We are exhausted, genuinely exhausted.”

“We’re changeable astatine similar animals”

Mohammed Abedin was near with a wounded limb aft the stampede [Abdullah Attar/Al Jazeera]

Mohammed Abedin, 24, present lies successful a infirmary furniture with a limb coiled aft heading to the aforesaid assistance centre successful Khan Younis aboriginal Wednesday.

For the archetypal time, helium says, helium chose to crook backmost aft sensing the information of the assemblage surge.

The young man, a first-year accounting student, arrived astir 3am (00:00 GMT) astatine the organisation site, but helium noticed that things looked different. The aforesaid tract had been closed for 2 days earlier reopening.

“Before, we utilized to participate from respective entree points, and the entryway was wide. But this time, we were funnelled done 1 long, constrictive corridor, fenced successful with metal,” helium says.

“When the gates opened, everyone rushed forward, and radical began falling underfoot.”

Mohammed described a terrifying country of radical crushed against the metallic barriers, screaming and gasping for help, arsenic capsicum spray and state bombs were fired by American guards and quadcopters above.

“I was lasting adjacent to my cousin, watching. We decided not to spell successful due to the fact that of the overwhelming numbers. I saw kids screaming, choking, men and younker trapped. No 1 could determination guardant oregon back.”

“The fenced corridor, with state bombs raining down and radical being pushed through, became a decease trap,” helium says.

Mohammed and his relative tried to leave, but conscionable arsenic helium thought helium had made a omniscient choice, a quadcoptor changeable him successful the leg. His relative was besides injured.

“There’s ever random gunfire from quadcaptors, tanks, oregon soldiers successful the area. This time, I was the unlucky one,” helium said. “But convey God, I survived.”

Mohammed reflects connected the tragic concern faced by Palestinians, caught betwixt starvation and death, forced to hazard their lives for food. He supports his displaced household of nine, primitively from Rafah and present sheltering successful al-Mawasi.

“We imagination regular of eating bread. I spell for assistance astir each time and usually instrumentality empty-handed. But the days I brought location conscionable a fewer kilos of flour felt similar ‘an eid’ [a celebration] for my family.”

Flour is the apical precedence for Mohammed, particularly with Gaza being nether siege for 4 months, the borders sealed, and humanitarian and commercialized goods blocked by Israel.

“Bread is what drives maine to hazard death. There’s nary alternative,” helium said, awaiting country astatine Nasser Hospital to region a slug from his leg. “Has the satellite failed to supply a harmless transmission for assistance delivery?”

“There’s nary system, nary organised relief, nary constabulary oregon UN intervention. We’re changeable astatine similar animals. If we don’t dice of hunger, we dice successful the chaos and stampedes.”

In precocious May 2025, the GHF launched its assistance organisation efforts successful Gaza pursuing an Israeli-imposed near-total blockade, which is inactive successful effect and has prevented the introduction of humanitarian supplies.

According to United Nations figures, at slightest 798 Palestinians person been killed since past portion trying to scope oregon person assistance from the organisation’s organisation points.

Widespread disapproval has emerged from UN agencies and rights organisations that reason the cognition is politicised and endangers civilians. The UN has stated that the GHF’s operations interruption humanitarian neutrality and are inherently unsafe, highlighted by the hundreds of deaths astatine their sites.

“Either we instrumentality with flour, oregon we don’t instrumentality astatine all”

‘More than 20 radical died for a container of flour,’ says Ziad Masad Mansour [Abdullah Attar/Al Jazeera]

Ziad Masad Mansour, 43, displaced with his woman and six children from cardinal Gaza to al-Mawasi successful Khan Younis aft their location was destroyed successful the war, is different predominant visitant to the assistance lines.

“I caput determination astatine 10 astatine nighttime and slumber connected the soil similar thousands of others. We endure the particulate and humiliation,” said Mansour, who was wounded successful the caput connected Wednesday.

“Sometimes I negociate to get flour, sometimes a fewer cans. Other times, I instrumentality empty-handed. I adjacent assistance others transportation their bags successful speech for immoderate food.”

“Yesterday, determination was horrific crowding: state bombs, bullets, and we were packed tightly successful the constrictive corridor. I was trying to flight the crush erstwhile I got changeable successful the caput and mislaid consciousness.”

Mansour is present recovering astatine Nasser Hospital. “More than 20 radical died contiguous – for a container of flour. What much is determination to say?”