Nearly 900 desperate and hungry Gazans have been killed in recent weeks trying to get food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported. OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said 875 people have been killed while trying to get food as of July 13, with 674 of them killed near GHF sites.
The remaining 201 victims were killed while seeking food near UN or UN-partner aid convoys. The controversial US and Israeli-backed aid hubs started operating in southern Gaza on May 27, bypassing established UN and NGO operations. The latest deadly incident happened Monday morning when Israeli military shelled Palestinians seeking food at a GHF site in northwestern Rafah, killing two and injuring at least nine others.
The killings started shortly after the private aid hubs began operating, creating a deadly pattern for hungry Palestinians trying to access food. On Saturday, medics at the ICRC hospital in Rafah received more than 130 patients, with most suffering from gunshot wounds and all saying they were trying to reach food distribution sites when they were shot. The GHF operates outside regular humanitarian channels, creating confusion and danger for civilians who don’t know which sites are safe to approach.
UNRWA expressed deep concerns about civilians being killed while trying to access food, as deadly malnutrition spreads among children. UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma said their teams have spoken to survivors of these killings, including starving children who were shot at while trying to pick up small amounts of food. The Israeli blockade has led to babies dying of severe acute malnutrition, with a major increase in child malnutrition since the blockade began on March 2. UNRWA has been banned from bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza for more than four months, with 6,000 trucks waiting in Egypt and Jordan containing food, medicine, and basic supplies like soap.
Violence is also rising in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians continue to be killed in incidents linked to Israeli settlers and security forces. OHCHR reported that two-year-old Laila Khatib was shot in the head by Israeli security forces while inside her house in Jenin on January 25, and 61-year-old Walid Badir was killed while cycling home from prayers on July 3. About 30,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since Israel’s “Iron Wall” operation began in the northern West Bank this year, with hundreds of homes demolished. Al-Kheetan noted that bringing about permanent demographic change in occupied territory may amount to a war crime and ethnic cleansing.
The hunger crisis in Gaza and violence in the West Bank show how the conflict is creating multiple humanitarian disasters that are getting worse each day. With medicine and food about to expire on thousands of waiting trucks, and one million children making up half of Gaza’s population, the situation demands immediate action to save lives and restore proper humanitarian operations.
