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Twenty people in Gaza are dead, killed in a stampede as they were trying to collect food for themselves and their families. It is the latest deadly incident involving the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. That's a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group that has taken over most of the food distribution in Gaza. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Arabic).
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Young men lie on the floor of a hospital, connected to oxygen masks. They were among the hungry masses injured and killed at a food distribution site near Khan Younis in southern Gaza Wednesday. Eyewitnesses said they were pinned inside the narrow fenced entrance to the site with private U.S. guards watching from above, as Mahmoud Abu Omra (ph) told Reuters.
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MAHMOUD ABU OMRA: (Speaking Arabic).
ESTRIN: He said the guards were firing pepper spray at the crowd while they were struggling. Chapin Fay, spokesperson for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the food distribution site, said most victims were trampled to death. He told reporters the chaos came after a U.S. staffer tried to tackle an armed man.
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CHAPIN FAY: This was a calculated provocation, part of a pattern of targeted efforts by Hamas and its allies to dismantle our lifesaving operations.
ESTRIN: Israel and the U.S. say this new food distribution system blocks Hamas from benefiting from aid. But the U.N. says more than 800 Palestinians have been killed trying to get food in recent months, most of them approaching these food centers. Israeli troops fire at chaotic crowds that are unsure when the sites are open, as NPR's Gaza producer, Anas Baba, reported at one food site last month.
ANAS BABA, BYLINE: They didn't even announce that it's open or it's closed. People enter in a blender, fighting each other to take as much as possible.
ESTRIN: Israel is expected to allow a surge of food to Gaza if there's a ceasefire, which Israel and Hamas are still negotiating. Israel's military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, addressed troops in Gaza yesterday.
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EYAL ZAMIR: (Speaking Hebrew).
ESTRIN: He said, "We are close to a very crucial crossroads. We'll know in the coming days whether or not we have an agreement."
Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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