Israel Killed Over 100 Palestinians As They Tried To Get Aid From The Controversial US-Backed Aid Agency
The UN condemned GHF and Israel for turning aid into a “death trap”.
Israel has killed dozens of starving Palestinians in Gaza trying to collect aid from aid distribution centers by the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), with the UN calling it a “death trap.”
After blocking all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for almost three months, Israel said on May 19 that it would allow only a “basic” amount of aid into Gaza to feed 2.3 million Palestinians.
The aid is being distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial group backed by Israel and the US, delivering food in small centralized “secure distribution sites,” which are heavily guarded by private security firms, including American contractors.
GHF operates four sites, three of them in Rafah, southern Gaza, and one in central Gaza, making it difficult for people in the north to reach aid, especially the elderly and people with disabilities.
On the first day of GHF operations on May 27, Israeli forces opened fire on thousands of Palestinians rushing to collect aid, killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 200.
Since then, Israel has killed at least 102 Palestinians trying to reach aid and injured more than 490 people as of Wednesday, June 4, according to Gaza’s media office.
Doctors Without Borders called GHF's system "dehumanizing, dangerous and severely ineffective" saying witnesses told them “they were shot from all sides by drones, helicopters, boats, tanks and Israeli soldiers on the ground,” The New Arab reported.
The UN condemned both GHF and the Israeli military, calling the new distribution method a "trap" for starving civilians, leading to mass casualties instead of relief.
The Israeli military denied shooting at civilians, calling it “Hamas propaganda” and claiming that it only fired “warning shots” at several “suspects” deviating from the designated routes.
GHF said on Wednesday, June 4, that it is temporarily suspending aid distribution to allow for “renovation, reorganization and efficiency improvement work,” adding that it will resume aid distribution on Thursday, June 5, according to Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military also said that the aid distribution centers will be “considered combat zones” at the time.
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