Looting, chaos and Israeli gunfire prevent aid from reaching Gazans
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Why there hasn’t been a formal declaration of famine in Gaza
The leading international authority on food crises said Tuesday that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza. It predicted “widespread death’ without immediate action. The IPC said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for two years, and that recent developments, including “increasingly stringent blockades” by Israel, have “dramatically worsened’ the situation. The warning stopped short of a formal declaration of famine. The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation’ The Gaza Health Ministry says there have been 82 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza this month, including 24 children. The UN has only declared famine a few times — in Somalia in 2011, and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and last year in parts of Darfur region. Tens of thousands are believed to have died in Somalia and South. Sudan in the famine in 2004. But the IPC says once a famine is declared it’s already too late and many people will have died by the time it is declared.
The leading international authority on food crises said Tuesday that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.” It predicted “widespread death” without immediate action.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for two years, and that recent developments, including “increasingly stringent blockades” by Israel, have “dramatically worsened” the situation.
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Even though Israel eased a 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May, aid groups say only a trickle of assistance is getting into the enclave and that Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger 21 months into the Israeli offensive launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
Hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces as they try to reach aid sites or convoys, according to witnesses, health officials and the United Nations’ human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots.
The IPC warning stopped short of a formal declaration of famine. Here’s why:
The IPC and aid groups says Gaza’s hunger crisis is worsening
Gaza’s population of roughly 2 million Palestinians relies almost entirely on outside aid. Israel’s offensive has wiped out what was already limited local food production. Israel’s blockade, along with ongoing fighting and chaos inside the territory, has further limited people’s access to food.
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The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation.” Nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza’s population is going days without eating, Ross Smith, the agency’s director for emergencies, said Monday.
The Gaza Health Ministry says there have been 82 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza this month, including 24 children. It did not give their exact cause of death. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and its figures on war deaths are seen by the U.N. and other experts as the most reliable estimate of casualties.
Famine occurs when these conditions are met
The IPC was first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia. It includes more than a dozen U.N. agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies.
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Famine can appear in pockets — sometimes small ones — and a formal classification requires caution.
The IPC has only declared famine a few times — in Somalia in 2011, and South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and last year in parts of Sudan’s western Darfur region. Tens of thousands are believed to have died in Somalia and South Sudan.
It rates an area as in famine when all three of these conditions are confirmed:
— 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving.
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— At least 30% of children 6 months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition, based on a weight-to-height measurement; or 15% of that age group suffer from acute malnutrition based on the circumference of their upper arm.
— At least two people, or four children under 5, per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease.
Gaza poses a major challenge for experts because Israel severely limits access to the territory, making it difficult and in some cases impossible to gather data.
The IPC said Tuesday that data indicate famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza, and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.
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Famine declarations usually come from the UN or governments
While the IPC says it is the “primary mechanism” used by the international community to conclude whether a famine is happening or projected, it typically doesn’t make such a declaration itself.
Often, U.N. officials together with governments will make a formal statement based on an analysis from the IPC.
But the IPC says once a famine is declared it’s already too late. While it can prevent further deaths, it means many people will have died by the time a famine is declared.
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It’s not always clear that hunger is the cause of death
Most cases of severe malnutrition in children arise through a combination of lack of nutrients along with an infection, leading to diarrhea and other symptoms that cause dehydration, said Alex de Waal, author of “Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine” and executive director of the World Peace Foundation.
“There are no standard guidelines for physicians to classify cause of death as ‘malnutrition’ as opposed to infection,” he said.
When famine occurs, there are often relatively few deaths from hunger alone. Far more people die from a combination of malnutrition, disease and other forms of deprivation. All of these count as excess deaths — separate from violence — that can be attributed to a food crisis or famine, he said.
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The war has made it hard to get accurate information
Israel’s offensive has gutted Gaza’s health system and displaced some 90% of its population. With hospitals damaged and overwhelmed by war casualties, it can be difficult to screen people for malnutrition and collect precise data on deaths.
“Data and surveillance systems are incomplete and eroded,” said James Smith, an emergency doctor and lecturer in humanitarian policy at the University College London who spent more than two months in Gaza.
“Which means that all health indicators — and the death toll — are known to be an underestimation,” he said.
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Even when famine is declared, the response can be lacking
A declaration of famine should in theory galvanize the international community to rush food to those who need it. But with aid budgets already stretched, and war and politics throwing up obstacles, that doesn’t always happen.
“There is not a big, huge bank account” to draw on, said OCHA’s Laerke. “The fundamental problem is that we build the fire engine as we respond.”
Aid groups say plenty of food and other aid has been gathered on Gaza’s borders, but Israel is allowing only a small amount to enter. Within Gaza, gunfire, chaos and looting have plagued the distribution of food.
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The international pressure led Israel to announce new measures over the weekend, including daily humanitarian pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza and airdrops of food. Israel says there’s no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza.
U.N. agencies say Israeli restrictions, and the breakdown of law and order, make it difficult to distribute the food that does come in.
“Only a massive scale-up in food aid distributions can stabilize this spiraling situation, calm anxieties and rebuild the trust within communities that more food is coming,” the World Food Program said. “An agreed ceasefire is long overdue.”
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U.S. analysis finds no evidence of widespread Hamas theft of Gaza aid
Israel says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas, which it blames for the crisis. U.S. State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos. New York Times reported on Saturday that the Israeli military has found no proof of Hamas systemically stealing aid from UN-run raid distribution sites, citing unnamed Israeli officials. Canadian doctor says hunger situation in Gaza is a ‘humanitarian disaster’: ‘We’re witnessing starvation as a weapon of war’ in Gaza. Canada reports nine new Palestinian deaths from hunger, bringing the total to 122 since Israel began its attacks on the territory. Israel estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food supplies, the majority near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the new private aid group that uses a for-profit U-S. logistics firm run by a former CIA officer and armed U.s. military veterans.
The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau within the U.S. Agency for International Development and completed in late June. It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of U.S.-funded supplies reported by U.S. aid partner organizations between October 2023 and this May.
It found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from U.S.-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos.
The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up “aid corruption.”
People carry sacks of flour as they walk past destroyed buildings in Gaza City on Tuesday. (Jehad Alshrafi/The Associated Press)
A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, questioned the existence of the analysis, saying no State Department official had seen it and that it “was likely produced by a deep state operative” seeking to discredit President Donald Trump’s “humanitarian agenda.”
The findings were shared with the USAID’s inspector general’s office and State Department officials involved in Middle East policy, said two sources familiar with the matter, and come as dire food shortages deepen in the devastated enclave.
Israel says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas, which it blames for the crisis.
However, the New York Times reported on Saturday that the Israeli military has found no proof of Hamas systemically stealing aid from UN-run raid distribution sites, citing unnamed Israeli officials. Those officials said the UN operations were, in fact, largely effective.
WATCH | Canadian doctor says hunger situation in Gaza is a ‘humanitarian disaster’: ‘We’re witnessing starvation as a weapon of war’ in Gaza: Canadian doctor Gaza health officials are reporting nine new Palestinian deaths from hunger, bringing the total to 122 since Israel began its attacks on the territory. Dr. Joanne Perry, Canadian medical team leader for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza, says the hunger situation in the region ‘is truly a humanitarian disaster.’
Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani called the New York Times report “fake news” on social media.
The UN World Food Program says nearly a quarter of Gaza’s 2.1 million Palestinians face famine-like conditions, thousands are suffering acute malnutrition and the World Health Organization and doctors in the enclave report starvation deaths of children and others.
The UN also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food supplies, the majority near the militarized distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the new private aid group that uses a for-profit U.S. logistics firm run by a former CIA officer and armed U.S. military veterans.
WATCH | Amnesty International slams GHF, likens operations to ‘animal pen’: ‘Like an animal pen’: Amnesty International slams Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution According to a new Amnesty International report, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a U.S.- and Israel-backed group that took over aid distribution in Gaza over a month ago — uses a militarized aid mechanism that enables Israel to use starvation as a weapon of war and inflict genocide against Palestinians. Budour Hassan of Amnesty International says those on the ground describe acquiring aid as a ‘harrowing’ endeavour.
The USAID study was conducted by its Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), which was the largest funder of assistance to Gaza before the Trump administration froze all U.S. foreign aid in January, terminating thousands of programs. It has also begun dismantling USAID, whose functions have been folded into the State Department.
The analysis found that at least 44 of the 156 incidents where aid supplies were reported stolen or lost were “either directly or indirectly” due to Israeli military actions, according to the briefing slides.
Israel’s military did not respond to questions about those findings.
WATCH | Recounting the struggle to feed a family in Gaza: Gaza aid worker says she’s struggling to feed her family Aid groups around the world are urging governments to restore aid distribution in Gaza, warning that the risk of mass starvation has spread across the region. Yousra Abu Sharekh, a children’s charity co-ordinator, described how she’s struggling to feed her own family and described the situation as ‘unimaginable.’
The study noted a limitation: because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, it was possible that U.S.-funded supplies went to administrative officials of Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza.
One source familiar with the study also cautioned that the absence of reports of widespread aid diversion by Hamas “does not mean that diversion has not occurred.”
The war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Nearly 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli assault began, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid
Israel, which controls access to Gaza, has said that Hamas steals food supplies from UN and other organizations to use to control the civilian population and boost its finances, including by jacking up the prices of the goods and reselling them to civilians.
Asked about the USAID report, the Israeli military told Reuters that its allegations are based on intelligence reports that Hamas militants seized cargoes by “both covertly and overtly” embedding themselves on aid trucks.
Those reports also show that Hamas has diverted up to 25 per cent of aid supplies to its fighters or sold them to civilians, the Israeli military said, adding that GHF has ended the militants’ control of aid by distributing it directly to civilians.
Responding to the New York Times report, Shoshani said: “It has been well documented throughout the war how Hamas systematically exploited humanitarian aid to fund terrorist activities in various ways.”
People hold onto an aid truck returning to Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. (Jehad Alshrafi/The Associated Press)
Hamas denies the allegations. A Hamas security official said that Israel has killed more than 800 Hamas-affiliated police and security guards trying to protect aid vehicles and convoy routes. Their missions were co-ordinated with the UN.
Reuters could not independently verify the claims by Hamas and Israel, which has not made public proof that the militants have systematically stolen aid.
GHF also accuses Hamas of massive aid theft in defending its distribution model. The UN and other groups have rejected calls by GHF, Israel and the U.S. to co-operate with the foundation, saying it violates international humanitarian principles of neutrality.
In response to a request for comment, GHF referred Reuters to a July 2 Washington Post article that quoted an unidentified Gazan and anonymous Israeli officials as saying Hamas profited from the sales and taxing of pilfered humanitarian aid.
Aid groups required to report losses
The 156 reports of theft or losses of supplies reviewed by BHA were filed by UN agencies and other humanitarian groups working in Gaza as a condition of receiving U.S. aid funds.
The second source familiar with the matter said that after receiving reports of U.S.-funded aid thefts or losses, USAID staff followed up with partner organizations to try to determine if there was Hamas involvement.
Those organizations also would “redirect or pause” aid distributions if they learned that Hamas was in the vicinity, the source said. Aid organizations working in Gaza also are required to vet their personnel, sub-contractors and suppliers for ties to extremist groups before receiving U.S. funds, a condition that the State Department waived in approving $30 million US for GHF last month.
WATCH | GHF operation ‘killing people,’ says UN chief: UN chief says U.S.-backed Gaza aid operation ‘is killing people’ United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres says a U.S.-backed aid operation in Gaza is ‘inherently unsafe,’ accusing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.
The slide presentation noted that USAID partners tended to over-report aid diversion and theft by groups sanctioned or designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations — such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad — because they want to avoid losing U.S. funding.
Of the 156 incidents of loss or theft reported, 63 were attributed to unknown perpetrators, 35 to armed actors, 25 to unarmed people, 11 directly to Israeli military action, 11 to corrupt subcontractors, five to aid group personnel “engaging in corrupt activities” and six to “others,” a category that accounted for “commodities stolen in unknown circumstances,” according to the slide presentation.
The armed actors “included gangs and other miscellaneous individuals who may have had weapons,” said a slide. Another slide said “a review of all 156 incidents found no affiliations with” U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, of which Hamas is one.
“The majority of incidents could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor,” said another slide. “Partners often largely discovered the commodities had been stolen in transit without identifying the perpetrator.”
WATCH | Family-run clans work to secure aid convoys in Gaza: Gaza clans come together to secure aid convoys Family-run clans take up arms to secure aid convoys amid ongoing chaos at distribution sites and around trucks.
It is possible there were classified intelligence reports on Hamas aid thefts, but BHA staff lost access to classified systems in the dismantlement of USAID, said a slide.
However, a source familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments told Reuters that they knew of no U.S. intelligence reports detailing Hamas aid diversions and that Washington was relying on Israeli reports.
The BHA analysis found that the Israeli military “directly or indirectly caused” a total of 44 incidents in which U.S.-funded aid was lost or stolen. Those included the 11 attributed to direct Israeli military actions, such as airstrikes or orders to Palestinians to evacuate areas of the war-torn enclave.
Losses indirectly attributed to Israeli military included cases where they compelled aid groups to use delivery routes with high risks of theft or looting, ignoring requests for alternative routes, the analysis said.
The food is just outside the border. But getting it to Gaza’s starving is a chaotic process.
The U.N. has been trying to get aid into the Gaza Strip since May. The effort has been hampered by a lack of access to the region. The U.S. government says it is working on a plan to get the aid in. The United Nations says it has been unable to get into the region because of security concerns.
The Israeli military, which manages the entry of all aid into the besieged enclave, says it has allowed in an average of 70 trucks a day since May, but that the United Nations and other aid agencies have failed to distribute it.
This number is already far fewer than the hundreds of trucks necessary to feed the population, aid agencies say, and crossing the border into Gaza is just one hurdle in a broken distribution chain largely controlled by Israel since it began allowing a limited flow of aid into the strip in May following a nearly three-month total blockade. The current process is plagued by complex bureaucracy, deadly shootings at aid distribution sites and civil disorder exacerbated by Israel’s relentless bombing campaign.
“The Kerem Shalom is not a McDonald’s drive-thru where we just pull up and pick up what we’ve ordered,” Stéphane Dujarric, a U.N. spokesperson, told reporters Wednesday, referring to the primary aid crossing from Israel into Gaza. “There are tremendous security impediments.”
“And, frankly, I think there’s a lack of willingness to allow us to do our work,” Dujarric added.
Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, the U.N. says
Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May, the U.N. says. The Gaza Health Ministry says 80 children have died from starvation since the beginning of the war. Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, without providing evidence of widespread diversion. The military says it has only fired warning shots near aid sites, witnesses and Palestinian officials say it regularly fire toward crowds of people heading to the aid sites.”This is famine — there is no bread or flour,” says a woman who lives in a tent with her husband and three children. “I do it for my children,” she says, as she lines up for a bowl of watery tomato soup at a charity kitchen in Gaza City. “The aid delivery model is dangerous and deprives Gazans of dignity,” says the United Kingdom, which signed a statement condemning Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. “This is a deliberate and human-made disaster,” says Joseph Belliveau, the executive director of a charity working in Gaza.
toggle caption Jehad Alshrafi/AP
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly near aid sites run by an American contractor, the U.N. human rights office said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed 25 people across Gaza, according to local health officials.
Desperation is mounting in the Palestinian territory of more than 2 million, which experts say is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and nearly two-year offensive. A breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting and contributed to chaos and violence around aid deliveries.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid — without providing evidence of widespread diversion — and blames U.N. agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in. The military says it has only fired warning shots near aid sites. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor, rejected what it said were “false and exaggerated statistics” from the United Nations.
toggle caption Jehad Alshrafi/AP
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, said Tuesday that 80 children have died from starvation since the beginning of the war, while 21 adults have since Sunday. The ministry only recently began tracking deaths from malnutrition in adults.
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The deaths could not be independently verified, but U.N. officials and major international aid groups say the conditions for starvation exist in Gaza. During hunger crises, people can die from malnutrition or from common illnesses or injuries that the body is not strong enough to fight.
Israel eased a 2½-month blockade in May, allowing a trickle of aid in through the longstanding U.N.-run system and the newly created GHF. Aid groups say it’s not nearly enough.
“I do it for my children”
Dozens of Palestinians lined up Tuesday outside a charity kitchen in Gaza City, hoping for a bowl of watery tomato soup. The lucky ones got small chunks of eggplant. As supplies ran out, people holding pots pushed and shoved to get to the front.
toggle caption Jehad Alshrafi/AP
Nadia Mdoukh, a pregnant woman who was displaced from her home and lives in a tent with her husband and three children, said she worries about being shoved or trampled on, and about heat stroke as daytime temperatures hover above 90 F (32 C).
“I do it for my children,” she said. “This is famine — there is no bread or flour.”
The U.N. World Food Program says Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached “new and astonishing levels of desperation.” Ross Smith, the agency’s director for emergencies, told reporters Monday that nearly 100,000 women and children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and a third of Gaza’s population is going without food for multiple days in a row.
MedGlobal, a charity working in Gaza, said five children as young as 3 months had died from starvation in the past three days.
“This is a deliberate and human-made disaster,” said Joseph Belliveau, its executive director. “Those children died because there is not enough food in Gaza and not enough medicines, including IV fluids and therapeutic formula, to revive them.”
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The charity said food is in such short supply that its own staff members suffer dizziness and headaches.
Aid delivery model criticized
Of the 1,054 people killed while trying to get food since late May, 766 were killed while heading to sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to the U.N. human rights office. The others were killed when gunfire erupted around U.N. convoys or aid sites.
Thameen al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the U.N. rights office, says its figures come from “multiple reliable sources on the ground,” including medics, humanitarian and human rights organizations. He said the numbers were still being verified according to the office’s strict methodology.
Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces regularly fire toward crowds of thousands of people heading to the GHF sites. The military says it has only fired warning shots, and GHF says its armed contractors have only fired into the air on a few occasions to try to prevent stampedes.
toggle caption Jehad Alshrafi/AP
A joint statement from 28 Western-aligned countries on Monday condemned the “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians.”
“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” read the statement, which was signed by the United Kingdom, France and other countries friendly to Israel. “The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.”
Israel and the United States rejected the statement, blaming Hamas for prolonging the war by not accepting Israeli terms for a ceasefire and the release of hostages abducted in the militant-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the fighting.
Hamas has said it will release the remaining hostages only in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel says it will keep fighting until Hamas has been defeated or disarmed.
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Strikes on tents sheltering the displaced
Israeli strikes killed at least 25 people Tuesday across Gaza, according to local health officials.
One strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up seaside Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The Israeli military said that it wasn’t aware of such a strike by its forces.
The dead included three women and three children, the hospital director, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya, told The Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said.
An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
“A bag of flour covered in blood and death,” said Mohammed Issam, who was in the crowd and said some people were run over by trucks in the chaos. “How long will this humiliation continue?”
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on that strike. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas, because the militants operate in densely populated areas.
Israel renewed its offensive in March with a surprise bombardment after ending an earlier ceasefire. Talks on another truce have dragged on for weeks despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7 attack, and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Aid Or Execution? How Gaza’s ‘Humanitarian’ Foundation Became A Death Trap – OpEd
At least 32 people were killed and more than 100 injured when Israeli troops opened fire near a food distribution site in southern Gaza. The shootings occurred near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has replaced UN agencies as the main distributor of aid in the territory. Backed by $30 million from the U.S. and overseen by the Israeli military, it bypasses established aid networks like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. The solution is clear: dismantle this lethal system and return aid delivery to neutral agencies like the UN Relief and works Agency. States must pressure Israel to open all border crossings, allowing unhindered access for food, medical supplies, and fuel. The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure aid reaches Gaza without delay; compliance is not optional.
At least 32 people were killed and more than 100 injured when Israeli troops opened fire near a food distribution site, run by a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group in southern Gaza. The shootings occurred near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has replaced UN agencies as the main distributor of aid in the territory. This seems to be the latest episode of violence connected to the food distribution system in Gaza. These are not accidents but the predictable outcome of a system that lures desperate people into militarized traps. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has become a death sentence for hundreds.
More than 670 Palestinians have been killed since May near sites according to the UN figures. Starving families, driven by hunger after months of blockade, trek through combat zones only to face gunfire, tanks, and drones. Witnesses describe chaos—Israeli forces firing on crowds, bodies piling up, survivors fleeing empty-handed. The irony is grotesque: aid meant to save lives is bait for massacres.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s setup is no accident. Backed by $30 million from the U.S. and overseen by the Israeli military, it bypasses established aid networks like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
The United Nations has condemned this as a violation of humanitarian principles, with Secretary-General António Guterres calling it “inherently unsafe.” Yet Washington continues to fund and legitimize this system, framing it as a way to prevent aid from reaching Hamas—an unproven claim that masks a darker intent.
This is not aid; it is control masquerading as compassion. By funneling desperate people into militarized zones, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation turns hunger into a weapon. Israel’s blockade, which choked Gaza for 11 weeks before this system began, created the starvation that drives these crowds. The United States, despite its rhetoric of concern, greenlights a mechanism that endangers lives while shielding Israel from accountability.
The solution is clear: dismantle this lethal system and return aid delivery to neutral agencies like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Unlike the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency has decades of experience distributing aid across Gaza, reaching millions without forcing them into combat zones. Its network, though strained by Israel’s restrictions, operates on principles of impartiality and safety, not militarization. Over 170 charities, including Oxfam and Save the Children, have demanded the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s closure, calling it a violation of humanitarian norms. A boycott of this system—by governments, donors, and aid groups—is essential. States must pressure Israel to open all border crossings, allowing unhindered access for food, medical supplies, and fuel. The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure aid reaches Gaza without delay; compliance is not optional.
The counterargument, voiced by Israel and U.S. officials, is that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation prevents Hamas from siphoning aid, a claim they say justifies its militarized approach. They argue that traditional aid channels are compromised, citing unverified reports of looting. Yet the United Nations and aid groups dispute this, finding no evidence of systematic diversion by Hamas. Even if true, the solution cannot be to endanger civilians further. The Israeli military’s own actions—firing on unarmed crowds—undermine any claim of moral necessity.
The world cannot look away. The death of 32 people in Rafah are not isolated tragedies but symptoms of a system designed to fail. True solidarity means rejecting this charade and demanding aid that saves lives, not ends them. Boycott the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Hold Israel and its backers accountable. Let’s rip off the humanitarian mask and call this what it is: a killing field.