At least 583 Palestinians have been killed since May 27, with 4,186 injured whilst awaiting an Israeli- and US-backed aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry said.
The murders took place every day as hunger loomed over the enclaves. International organizations have warned for weeks that Gaza’s 2.1 million residents are facing a catastrophic food shortage.
Over 100 people were killed in gunfire from Israeli forces in the first eight days of GHF surgery.
Reported from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said the GHF remains the sole source of food as Israel continues to continue strict restrictions on the invasion of supplies by other groups.
“Many people here are trying to leave the GHF centres due to the dangers involved in going to them for the continuous and intentional shooting of those seeking assistance,” Mahmoud said. “But again, if you don’t have a food parcel, the answer is not the answer, as it means the child will be hungry.”
Previously, the UN-led distribution network operated around 400 sites across the strip, but GHF was protected by armed private security contractors working for US companies, setting up only three “mega sites” in the south and one in central Gaza.
The GHF center operates irregularly and sometimes opens for just an hour. In one example, the site announced its opening on Facebook, but posted it eight minutes after the supplies were already gone.
The centers function on a first come, first served basis, and often promote chaos as a fight over limited resources, with hopeless crowds.
How do people access these aid distribution sites?
Access to these centres is dangerous. Palestinians can walk miles through active combat zones, navigate biometric checkpoints, and bring heavy clauses back to their families.
The system excludes the most vulnerable, those who are actually the most vulnerable, those who are injured, and those with disabilities.
What is in the box?
The aid boxes themselves rarely meet the needs of self-sufficiency. The World Food Program recommends 2,100 calories per person per day, while Israel closes its aid with 1,600.
The GHF compartment offers slightly more (about 1,750 calories), but is much scarce in nutritional requirements and does not contain clean water, medicines, blankets or fuel. For many people, receiving a box is not a relief, but a rare stroke of luck.
Al Koudaly, behind Al Jazeera correspondent, reported from Gaza that the rations provided little to keep the family in place for a long time.
She explained that the typical GHF box contains 4kg (8.8lb) of flour, two bags of pasta, two cans of fava beans, a pack of tea bags and some biscuits. Some compartments contain small portions of lentils and soup mix, but the amount is minimal.
Are people seeking assistance intentionally shot?
According to the Israeli Harletz newspaper, citing an unknown Israeli soldier, the forces were told to fire at a Palestinian crowd and use unnecessary deadly force against those who were thought to pose no threat.
“We fired machine guns from the tank and threw hand-rena bullets,” one soldier told Harletts. “There was one incident in which a group of civilians were attacked while moving forward under the fog cover.”
In another example, a soldier said, “One and five people were killed every day.”
“It’s a killing field,” the soldier said.
What is GHF?
Before the war began on October 7, 2023, approximately 500 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza every day. That changed when Israel began a war with the enclave. Deliveries of aid plummeted to less than 80 trucks a day, and in March Israel stopped them altogether during nearly three months of lockdown with all supplies.
On May 27, GHF took over the aid operations as a private contractor, introducing a new delivery system outside the traditional UN framework.
The organization, which was founded in the United States this year, was described in a New York Times newspaper as “at the brainchild of Israel.” This is part of a long-term strategy conceived in 2023 when Israel began planning for the future of Gaza.
GHF has not made public funding sources. Details remain vague, but he said he has secured a $100 million commitment. The US State Department has recently pledged $30 million in support.
How are children in Gaza affected?
UNICEF warns that malnutrition in children in Gaza is rising at a “surprising rate.”
In May alone, at least 5,119 children between the ages of six months and five were admitted to hospital to treat acute malnutrition. The increase was nearly 50% since April and a surge of 150% from February, resulting in a temporary ceasefire that allowed aid access.
“In just 150 days from the beginning of the year to the end of May, 16,736 children (an average of 112) were hospitalized for treatment,” said Eduard Beigvader, UNICEF’s regional director in the Middle East and North Africa.
How is Israel threatening the people of Gaza with starvation?
One in five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face starvation due to the lockdown of Israeli aid. The chaos of aid delivery points highlights the incredible level of hungry levels that fascinate Gaza.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Stage Classification (IPC) report, 93% of the Enclave population (93% of the Enclave population) face acute food shortages.
Certain governors have experienced more severe levels of hunger in northern Gaza.
The IPC said that Israel’s continued lockdown would “highly lead to further massive displacements within and across the governor” as items essential to the survival of the people will be exhausted.
“All of these cases are preventable. The food, water and nutritional treatment they desperately need is blocked from reaching them. These are human decisions that are sacrificing lives,” he added.
Of the 19 fatal incidents, including the distribution of food aid, children are among more than half of the victims, highlighting the vulnerability of Gaza’s youngest residents.
(Source: Al Jazeera)