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The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said that Hamas had threatened its workers, a claim the militant group denied, as the United Nations warned that Gazans were far from getting the food they need.
June 9, 2025, 8:14 a.m. ET
The distribution centers of the much-criticized new aid system for Gaza were mired in new chaos on Monday, amid conflicting reports over the weekend that Hamas had threatened to attack workers for the Israeli-backed group handing out food supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group set up to bypass traditional aid distribution, said on Saturday that some of its workers had been threatened by Hamas, the militant group that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in 2023 and controls the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Hamas denied the accusations and accused the aid group of lacking neutrality.
Shootings near aid distribution centers have killed nearly 50 people and wounded some 300 since the foundation began operations at the end of May. The Israeli military has acknowledged firing near people who had deviated from “designated access routes” and who did not respond to verbal warnings. Gaza health officials say dozens of Palestinians have been killed trying to get aid.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has razed huge urban areas and forced almost all the enclave’s two million residents to flee their homes at least once. Israel cut off deliveries of food, fuel and other essential goods to Gaza in March as a way to pressure Hamas, a blockade that ended in mid-May after almost 80 days. Aid groups and some Israeli military officers have warned that the restrictions have pushed Gazans to the bring of starvation.
Israel has accused Hamas of diverting aid from humanitarian groups under the previous distribution system, which was managed by the United Nations across hundreds of distribution sites. The United Nations has said there was no evidence that the militants systematically diverted aid.
Israel agreed to allow some aid into Gaza last month. Most has come through the foundation, which has four distribution sites that are operated by private American security contractors in coordination with the Israeli military. The United Nations and other aid groups have boycotted this system, and have accused Israel of using aid as a part of its military strategy.
