38 Starving Aid Seekers Killed by Israeli Forces near Aid Sites in Past 24 Hours

At least 20 starving Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Monday morning while waiting for food near aid distribution sites operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the US and Israel, near Rafah in southern Gaza, amid a weeks-long Israeli blockade that has left the population desperate for basic necessities.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 20 aid seekers were killed and over 200 others wounded after being shot by Israeli soldiers close to an aid distribution point run GHF near Rafah.

The Ministry added 38 aid seekers were killed over the past 24 hours while waiting for aid.

“Israel has weaponised food and blocked lifesaving aid,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said as he presented his annual report to the 59th Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians to reach food distribution centres,” he added.

“Disturbing, dehumanising rhetoric from senior Israeli government officials is reminiscent of the gravest of crimes.”

Israel has regularly attacked starving aid seekers since the GHF began to operate on May 27, killing 238 people and injuring 2,831 others, the Ministry reported on Monday.

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.”

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 resignedas 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.