The United Nations Human Rights Office has reported a troubling statistic: at least 798 fatalities have occurred in Gaza over the past six weeks, specifically at aid points operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by both the U.S. and Israel, as well as at various convoys of other relief organizations.
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The GHF has relied on private U.S. security and logistics firms to deliver supplies into Gaza, primarily bypassing a UN-led assistance framework. In light of numerous Palestinian civilian deaths while attempting to access GHF aid hubs in areas controlled by Israeli forces, the United Nations has labeled this aid approach as “inherently unsafe” and in violation of established humanitarian neutrality standards.
“From May 27 to July 7, we have documented 798 killings, including 615 near the sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and 183 along the route of aid convoys,” shared Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), during a media briefing in Geneva.
Despite these assertions, the GHF has denied any fatal incidents occurring at its locations. The OHCHR has clarified that its figures are derived from various sources, including local hospitals, cemeteries, family reports, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs, and partner organizations present on the ground.
Many of the injuries reported in the vicinity of aid distribution sites since May 27 have been due to gunfire, according to Ms. Shamdasani. “We have raised concerns regarding atrocity crimes and the risk of further violence occurring where individuals are lining up for essential supplies such as food,” she noted.
The GHF claims to have delivered over 70 million meals to the residents of Gaza within a span of five weeks, contending that most aid from other humanitarian organizations has been “nearly entirely looted” by groups such as Hamas and various criminal factions. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has previously highlighted incidents of violent looting, while the World Food Programme recently noted that many trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza have been intercepted by “hungry civilian communities.”
As the conflict persists, there is a dire lack of food and essential resources in Gaza, 21 months into Israel’s ongoing bombardment which has decimated much of the enclave, displacing about 2.3 million inhabitants.
A separate strike in Gaza City has claimed one life.
In continued Israeli operations, civil defense officials reported that 18 additional individuals were killed, among them ten who were waiting for aid in the southern part of the war-affected region. According to Mohammed al-Mughayyir, a civil defense official, these ten were shot by Israeli forces while seeking supplies in the Al-Shakoush area, where reports of fatal fire on aid seekers are not uncommon. Additionally, six more casualties were reported following four distinct airstrikes in Khan Yunis, while two drone strikes in northern Gaza City resulted in two fatalities.
In the midst of this turmoil, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has raised alarms regarding soaring levels of acute malnutrition among the population. MSF reported that levels of malnutrition have reached an “all-time high” at two of its facilities in Gaza. “Our teams are witnessing an unprecedented rise in acute malnutrition cases here,” stated MSF in a public statement.
In both the Al-Mawasi clinic in southern Gaza and the MSF Gaza Clinic in the north, they are currently handling over 700 pregnant and breastfeeding women, together with nearly 500 children suffering from severe and moderate malnutrition. “This is the first time we have seen such a severe scale of malnutrition cases in Gaza,” remarked Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, MSF’s deputy medical coordinator. He emphasized, “The starvation faced by people in Gaza is intentional; it can cease immediately if the Israeli authorities permit the unrestricted flow of food supplies.”
In a separate incident, UNICEF Communications Specialist for Children in Gaza described a scene of “absolute panic” following the killing of nine children in an Israeli strike outside a health clinic in central Gaza. “Mothers and children were gathering at this site, which had yet to open, to receive therapeutic nutrition products for malnourished children,” Rosalia Bollen told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
“My colleagues visited the hospital and spoke with several children and mothers,” she continued, recounting a mother’s loss of her one-year-old child and the critical condition of her ten-year-old. “The scene was chaotic, filled with sheer panic.”
Bollen added that hospitals in Gaza are inundated with severely injured patients daily. “These are not individuals with minor injuries; we are witnessing people who have lost limbs and have shrapnel lodged in their bodies—severe injuries that could result in life-altering consequences.”
Throughout the first seven days of July, at least 100 children were reported killed, and Bollen reminded listeners that such tragedies are a common occurrence in Gaza. “Families have been deprived of basic necessities, resulting in disease, malnutrition, and preventable deaths,” she pointed out. “There is a critical shortage of food, medicine, and essential hygiene products. This scarcity is the product of deliberate actions.”
“What families in Gaza need is a substantial influx of supplies today.” Despite the ongoing conflict, Bollen assured that UNICEF and other organizations remain committed to operating in the region.
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Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times International – Monitoring.
