Holiday Ayo - More than thousands of starving Palestinians stormed a US-backed humanitarian aid distribution center in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Tuesday (5/27).

This triggered a riot, which forced the evacuation of US personnel at the location, and Israeli soldiers opened fire.

The distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza using a new mechanism initiated by the US and its ally, Israel, has drawn criticism from international humanitarian organizations because it is considered to bypass the existing United Nations (UN) system and fails to meet humanitarian principles.

The distribution of aid, which is being supervised by the US and Israel, as reported by AFP, Wednesday (5/28), involves a humanitarian group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) which is supported by Washington.

The distribution was carried out after Israel eased the aid blockade imposed since March 2, which triggered shortages of food and medicine.

However, the distribution of aid in the Rafah area, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday (27/5) ended in chaos involving thousands of people pushing and forcing their way in to collect the humanitarian aid provided.

Ayman Abu Zaid, one of the Gazan refugees, told AFP that he was queuing at the aid distribution center when "suddenly a large number of people started pushing and entering randomly".

"It was because of the lack of aid and the delay in distribution, so they tried to enter to take whatever they could," he said.

At one point, according to Zaid, "Israeli soldiers started shooting, and the sound was very scary, and people started scattering, but some people still continued to try to collect aid despite the danger".

The Israeli military, in its statement, claimed that "its troops fired warning shots in the area outside the compound". It also emphasized that they had restored "control over the situation" in Rafah.

Local Israeli media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reported, as reported by Anadolu Agency, that several American workers affiliated with the GHF were forced to evacuate from Rafah after the chaos erupted.

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom newspaper reported that Israeli soldiers were deployed to the aid distribution center after the American workers were evacuated.