The distribution centers of the much-criticized new aid system for Gaza were mired in new chaos on Monday, amid conflicting reports over the weekend that Hamas had threatened to attack workers for the Israeli-backed group handing out food supplies.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group set up to bypass traditional aid distribution, said on Saturday that some of its workers had been threatened by Hamas, the militant group that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in 2023 and controls the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, Hamas denied the accusations and accused the aid group of lacking neutrality.

Shootings near aid distribution centers have killed nearly 50 people and wounded some 300 since the foundation began operations at the end of May. The Israeli military has acknowledged firing near people who had deviated from “designated access routes” and who did not respond to verbal warnings. Gaza health officials say dozens of Palestinians have been killed trying to get aid.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has razed huge urban areas and forced almost all the enclave’s two million residents to flee their homes at least once. Israel cut off deliveries of food, fuel and other essential goods to Gaza in March as a way to pressure Hamas, a blockade that ended in mid-May after almost 80 days. Aid groups and some Israeli military officers have warned that the restrictions have pushed Gazans to the brink of starvation.

Source: The New York Times.