Images from a distribution point controlled by the "Gaza Humanitarian Aid Foundation", backed by the Israeli government, have drawn comparisons on social media to an iconic photo taken at Nazi concentration camps. Controversy erupted after the U.S.- and Israeli-supported foundation announced it had started distributing aid in Gaza today.
Chaos broke out when thousands of Palestinians entered the aid distribution site in southern Gaza at once.
Security guards from a U.S. company managing the site fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd of thousands who had been waiting for hours to receive a box of food.
Thousands of Palestinians, who had traveled long distances hoping to receive aid, were forced to leave the area empty-handed in panic.
An aerial photo showing Palestinians waiting in line at the distribution point circulated widely on social media.
The image shows large numbers of Palestinians confined in cage-like sections separated by barbed wire fences.
Social media users compared the photo to a 1945 image taken at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Images of Palestinians waiting behind fences for aid were shared widely online.
One video shows thousands of Palestinians waiting behind fences to access the distribution point, with a masked individual—believed to be staff—visible making gestures toward the crowd in a seemingly mocking manner. In the background, thousands of Palestinians can be seen waiting behind fences.
While thousands of Palestinians stood behind wire fences hoping to receive a single box of aid, the masked person's seemingly playful gestures toward the crowd drew attention.
Social media users reacted strongly, comparing the scene to concentration camps.
A user named Musab Abu Taha shared the images with the caption:
"A concentration camp. Humiliating people who have starved for 86 days. A disgrace for this world."
Another user, Sana Said, commented:
"An American mercenary, part of the Gaza Humanitarian Aid Fund, is managing the process of gathering starving Palestinians into what resembles a concentration camp for food distribution."
