Gaza: Israeli Forces Kill at Least Eleven Starving Civilians, Injure Dozens While Waiting for Food
Gaza (Quds News Network)- At least eleven starving Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces while waiting for food aid across the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, amid a weeks-long Israeli blockade that has left the population desperate for basic necessities.
According to the local sources, two people were killed and dozens wounded after being shot by Israeli soldiers close to an aid distribution point run by the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) near Rafah, southern Gaza.
Three people were also killed earlier by Israeli forces while waiting for aid near anothet GHF aid site near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza.
In northern Gaza, seven people have arrived at Al-Shifa Hospital since Sunday dawn. They were among those waiting for aid in the Al-Tuwam area, northwest of Gaza City.
Israel has regularly attacked starving aid seekers since the GHF began to operate on May 27, causing hundreds of casualties.
Over 120 starving aid seekers waiting for food aid near GHF distribution centres have been killed by Israeli forces since the organisation started operating in the enclave, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Drone footage, eyewitness videos, and testimonies from medical teams in Rafah all confirmed that Israeli forces opened fire directly and intensively on civilians, with many of the fatalities receiving gunshot wounds to their head or chest.
On March 2, Israel announced the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinains.
An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report last month warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months.
After more than 80 days of total blockade, starvation, and growing international outrage, limited aid has allegedly been distributed since last week by the GHF, a scandal-plagued organization backed by the US and Israel, created to bypass the UN’s established aid delivery infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
Most humanitarian organisations, including the UN, have distanced themselves from GHF, arguing that the group violates humanitarian principles by restricting aid to south and central Gaza, requiring Palestinians to walk long distances to collect aid, and only providing limited aid, among other critiques.
The UN confirmed that Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians with only a few trucks of aid having reached Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that “weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.”
“Today’s events have shown once again that this new system of aid delivery is dehumanising, dangerous and severely ineffective,” Claire Manera, MSF’s emergency coordinator, said in a statement.
“It has resulted in deaths and injuries of civilians that could have been prevented. Humanitarian aid must be provided only by humanitarian organisations who have the competence and determination to do it safely and effectively,” she added.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also demanded an independent inquiry into the killings and for “perpetrators to be held accountable”.
Moreover, two senior officials of the foundation resigned days before the start of its operations. Jake Wood, who resigned as executive director, said in a statement that the group’s plans could not be consistent with the “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.” The chief operating officer, David Burke, also resigned, according to The Washington Post.
On May 30, the Boston Consulting Group, which had been part of the planning and implementation of the foundation, withdrew its team and terminated its association with GHF.
Former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness criticized the Israeli-US aid distribution mechanism, saying it has turned Gaza into a “human abattoir.”
“Hundreds of civilians are herded like animals into fenced-off pens and are slaughtered like cattle in the process,” Gunness said.
Palestinians have complained about the rush to secure packages inside the distribution centres and the failure of the guards to maintain order. The instructions given to Palestinians are also confusing and contradictory.
Photos and videos circulated on social media at one of GHF’s distribution sites near the so-called “Morag Corridor” in Rafah showed large crowds lining up in front of metal fences topped with surveillance cameras.
Witnesses described a slow and tightly controlled entry process, with people funnelled through narrow fenced corridors that resembled cattle chutes. Once inside the distribution area, people were subjected to ID checks and eye scans to determine who was permitted to receive aid.