Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF, has said the “disastrous start” to the food distribution coordinated by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation confirmed that “the US-Israel plan to instrumentalise aid is ineffective”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Through this dangerous and reckless approach, food is not being distributed where it’s needed most but is instead directed only to areas where Israeli forces choose to amass civilians,” Secretary-General Christopher Lockyear said in a statement.

“This means the most vulnerable — especially the elderly and people with disabilities — have virtually no chance of accessing the food they desperately need.”

It added that “the claim that this unprincipled, failing mechanism is necessary to prevent the diversion of aid is false” and that the initiative appeared to be “a cynical ploy to feign compliance with international humanitarian law”.