Israeli troops have opened fire near thousands of hungry Palestinians as a logistics group chosen by Israel to ship food into Gaza lost control of its distribution centre on its second day of operations.

An 11-week total siege and a continuing tight Israel blockade mean most people in Gaza are desperately hungry. Hundreds of thousands walked through Israeli military lines to reach the new distribution centre in Rafah on Tuesday.

But the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was not prepared for them and staff at one point were forced to abandon their posts.

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Israeli tank fire and gunfire was heard, and a military helicopter fired flares, the Associated Press reported. At least three injured Palestinians were taken from the scene, one of them bleeding from a leg wound.

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Images shared on social media, which could not immediately be verified, appeared to show people waiting in queues between wire fences. These were later partly torn down as people rushed into an open field where boxes were waiting.

Some reportedly managed to obtain aid boxes with basic items including sugar, flour, pasta and tahini but most left empty-handed.

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On Sunday, Jake Wood, the founding director of the GHF, resigned, saying that it would not be possible for the group to deliver aid “while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence”.

The UN and other humanitarian organisations had already refused to work with the GHF on the grounds that doing so would compromise values that are key to reaching civilians in all conflict zones, and put at risk their teams and the recipients of aid in Gaza.

They also warned that a newly formed group with no experience would not be able to handle the logistics of feeding more than 2 million people in a devastated combat zone.

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The GHF has not revealed who is funding its work, although initial pictures showed boxes with the logos of three small aid organisations with experience working in Gaza. None responded to questions about their work with the GHF, but even if they have agreed to partner with the organisation long term, they do not have the capacity to meet overall needs.

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