Thousands of Palestinians rushed into a new aid distribution centre run by a US-backed group in southern Gaza on Tuesday, AFP journalists reported, leading to chaotic scenes as Israel implemented a new distribution system.

The incident in Rafah came days after the partial easing of a total aid blockade on the territory that Israel imposed on March 2, leading to severe shortages of food and medicine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later acknowledged a "loss of control momentarily" at the centre, but a senior military official said the distribution was nonetheless "a success".

According to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), normal operations resumed following the incident.

Ayman Abu Zaid, a displaced Gazan, told AFP he was standing in line at the centre 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 get in to take whatever they could," he said.

At one point, "the Israeli forces started shooting, and the sound was very frightening, and people began to scatter, but some still kept trying to take the aid despite the danger", he added.

The Israeli military later said its "troops fired warning shots in........

© Al Monitor