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JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL 

The Israeli military said Tuesday it has established four humanitarian aid distribution centers in Gaza, claiming they are run by international aid organizations under the protection of an unnamed US civilian security firm operating in the enclave.

The centers were established in recent weeks and “are operated by international aid organizations and secured by an American civilian security company in the Gaza Strip.”

The military did not name the aid organizations involved in the operation.

It claimed that the establishment of the centers was “in accordance with the directive of the political echelon and in close coordination with the United States.”

According to a map released by the Israeli military, three of the centers are located along the so-called Morag Axis, which separates Rafah from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, while the fourth is positioned at the Netzarim Corridor, dividing northern Gaza from the rest of the territory.

“As part of the gradual opening of the distribution centers, two of the centers, located in Tel al-Sultan and the Morag Corridor in the Rafah area, began operating today (Tuesday) and are distributing food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.

“This process coincided with an ongoing dialogue and cooperation with the IDF (army), through the Southern Command and COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), as well as international aid organizations, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and the American civilian security company,” it said.

In a move that bypasses the UN and international relief organizations, Tel Aviv is using the US-backed GHF as a cover to advance its policy of displacing Palestinians by promoting the group’s aid distribution in so-called “buffer zones” in southern Gaza.

The GHF’s involvement in an Israeli-controlled aid mechanism has raised concern among humanitarian actors who say meaningful relief requires large-scale sustained access.

Earlier, several Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire when starving Gazans stormed a US-backed aid distribution facility in the southern city of Rafah, local authorities said.

“The Israeli occupation’s plan for aid distribution in the so-called buffer zone has failed disastrously,” Gaza’s government media office said in a statement.

It said Israeli forces opened fire after thousands of starving Palestinians rushed into the aid distribution facility.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said American workers affiliated with the GHF were evacuated from Rafah after the storming.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Sunday on X that Gaza requires between 500 and 600 aid trucks per day to meet humanitarian demands.

Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid since March 2, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against defenseless civilians in the enclave.