Thousands of desperate Palestinians stormed a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in central Gaza on Wednesday, underscoring the dire humanitarian crisis in the war-torn region.
The WFP reported that two people may have died during the chaos, with gunshots heard as civilians scrambled for emergency food.
“Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP’s Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah… in search of food supplies,” the agency stated on X, adding that several people were injured and that it was still verifying the full details.
The incident comes as food security experts warn that starvation is imminent for one in five people in Gaza, where only a trickle of aid has begun to arrive following a devastating 18-month-long conflict and a two-month blockade.
Tensions have escalated between Israel and the United Nations over aid distribution. Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, accused the UN of trying to obstruct aid delivery, claiming it is targeting the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—a private US-backed organisation operating outside the traditional UN-led system.
Danon said aid was being delivered under a “new distribution mechanism” developed with the US and international partners, which the UN opposes.
The UN maintains that it cannot coordinate with any group that does not uphold its humanitarian principles. Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, affirmed, “We will not participate in operations that do not meet our humanitarian principles.”
He noted that while Israel had approved 800 truckloads of aid last week, fewer than 500 actually reached Gaza. On Tuesday, a GHF distribution site was also overrun by crowds, leaving 47 injured and at least one dead, according to Palestinian medical sources.
As Israel’s offensive entered its 600th day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the war had “changed the face of the Middle East.” He announced the killing of Mohammed Sinwar, brother to Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Hamas’s October 2023 attack. Israeli reports said Mohammed was targeted in southern Gaza earlier this month.
The October 7 assault by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and the abduction of 251 hostages. Of these, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 confirmed dead.
In Tel Aviv, relatives of hostages and hundreds of protesters marked the grim anniversary of the attack’s timing—6:29 a.m.—calling for a ceasefire. One freed hostage, Arbel Yehud, said that failed negotiations worsen the plight of those still held. “Food diminishes, pressure increases, and bombings and military actions do not save them, they endanger their lives,” she said.
US envoy Steve Witkoff, meanwhile, expressed cautious optimism about reaching a temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution. But for many Gazans like 40-year-old Bassam Daloul, the situation remains bleak: “Six hundred days have passed and nothing has changed. Death continues, and Israeli bombing does not stop… Even hoping for a ceasefire feels like a dream and a nightmare.”
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported on Wednesday that at least 3,924 people have died since March 18, when Israel resumed attacks following a broken truce. The total death toll in Gaza now stands at 54,084—mostly civilians.
What you should know
As Gaza’s hunger crisis worsens, Palestinians stormed a UN food warehouse in a desperate search for supplies. The chaos left at least two dead and several injured.
The World Food Programme is grappling with aid delivery challenges, while Israel and the UN clash over distribution efforts involving the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Amid war and starvation, hopes for a ceasefire remain distant for many Gazans.
