Nearly 800 killed at Gaza food hubs and aid convoy routes since end of May: UN
The GHF, proposed by Israel as an alternative to the UN aid system in Gaza, has been almost universally condemned by rights groups for its violation of principles of humanitarian impartiality and what they have said could be complicity in war crimes.
“Up until 7 July, we’ve recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys,” the UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.
Israel backed the GHF after claiming that Hamas diverted aid from the UN-led aid system, a claim for which the UN stressed there was no evidence. The private company employs American mercenaries to oversee four food distribution zones, as opposed to the previous 400 non-militarised zones run under the UN system.
In Gaza, the GHF has become infamous for the near-daily shootings of people seeking food who have queued to receive meals since the group started operating in early May. Palestinians seeking food have to navigate a complicated set of instructions and stick to specific routes, as well as walk long distances to access the food sites. Even then there is no guarantee they will be safe.
The war in Gaza started after Hamas-led militants killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 250 hostages on 7 October 2023. More than 57,000 people have been killed during Israel’s 21 months of military operations there.
Source: Ifp Media Wire