Israel Warns Roads to Gaza Aid Centers Are 'Combat Zones'

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross put it bluntly to the BBC: Gaza has become worse than hell on Earth. Things don't look likely to improve Wednesday, with NBC News reporting access to Gaza's aid distribution centers has been cut off for the day. The Israeli military announced that the roads to those centers "are considered combat zones" and Palestinians would not be permitted to travel on them on Wednesday.

The Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which handles aid distribution in Gaza, had earlier said its three distribution sites would be closed for "update, organization and efficiency improvement work." The New York Times reports the developments follow two incidents in three days in which Israeli troops fired on people moving toward GHF sites; at least 23 were reportedly killed on Sunday, and another 27 on Tuesday. The GHF confirmed the deaths, which it said occurred after people strayed from an Israeli-designated "safe corridor" while heading to one of the sites.

The AP reports the GHF says it has asked the Israeli military to "introduce measures that guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks near IDF military perimeters." Context:

• But NBC cautions: "With electricity and internet access limited, it is unclear how many Palestinians will have received the message about both the closures and the fact they could be targeted if they go near the centers after several attacks near the aid sites in recent days."
• The Times adds this: "The United Nations has boycotted the new [aid distribution] system, saying that it endangers civilians by forcing them to walk for miles to get food on a route that goes past Israeli military lines."
• The BBC echoes that: "The previous system that worked during the ceasefire, which the [Israelis] don't want to have anymore, was run by the UN and international agencies where they distributed aid around the Gaza strip. In the current system there is a hub and Palestinians go there. But what's happened is thousands and thousands of Palestinians arrive and it gets chaotic."