On Tuesday, another form of tragedy took place in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. Israeli gunfire killed at least 51 people and wounded over 200 others who had gathered to collect food and medical aid. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, this incident serves as a stark reminder that the threat remains for more than 2.1 million people living in Gaza. They are just trying to survive amid a humanitarian crisis that the United Nations has warned is on the verge of degenerating into famine.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is a private contractor with Israeli and US support. International aid agencies like UN OCHA, INTERSOS, and others are rightfully critiquing GHF for placing distribution centers in active combat zones. GHF refuted the media claims that connected Tuesday’s shooting to one of its vaccine distribution sites. They then proceeded to call these claims “categorically untrue.” At the same time, the organization continues to assert that there have not been incidents on sites or in proximity to its sites during operational hours.
Despite GHF’s assertions, reports from the Palestinian health ministry indicate that nearly 400 Palestinians have been killed near GHF aid centers since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on Gaza and allowed limited aid to enter the region. On top of that, nearly 10,000 people have been injured in crashes happening around these distribution centers.
According to witnesses, it was a horrific scene as civilians were just trying to get basic things. Mohammed Abu Abed, who was present during the attack, recounted the chaos:
“We were waiting for flour trucks. Suddenly, we were among the people and were hit by two missiles that tore apart people’s bodies, remains, pieces of flesh everywhere. I don’t know what to say; they killed the people, unarmed people who had nothing on them.”
Another witness lamented the loss of life while highlighting the desperate circumstances that drove families to seek aid:
“They went to bring bread for their children, just bread or flour. They killed us in cold blood.”
GHF acknowledged earlier this month that casualties had occurred in surrounding areas but described them as happening “well beyond GHF’s secure distribution site.” This dubious statement begs the question, what happens when civilians try to approach these centers that are so ‘essential’?
The Israeli military has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the Tuesday incident in Rafah but provided a statement acknowledging that “a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Younis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area.” They claimed knowledge of reported civilians injured due to IDF fire as the crowd came close.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the humanitarian disaster resulting from Israel’s actions in this latest escalation of the conflict. He stated:
“Israel has weaponized food and blocked lifesaving aid. I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians trying to reach food distribution centres.”
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights couldn’t be clearer … In GHF’s opinion, they found no evidence that all those killed or injured were taking part in hostilities or constituted a threat to the Israeli military or GHF personnel.
From a health perspective, those on the ground are calling Gaza a humanitarian catastrophe. An intensive care doctor reported:
“The situation here is catastrophic beyond imagination. We are trying our best, but the numbers are overwhelming.”
This is a spartan existence for many Gazans, and the recent violence has cast that reality into sharp relief. They are courageously traversing a new and volatile terrain simply to get to life’s essentials. The humanitarian emergency is becoming even worse as aid is understaffed and underresourced, life-saving, and increasingly dangerous to deliver.
