According to health officials in Gaza, Israeli forces have killed more than 55,000 Palestinians — most of whom were children, women, and the elderly — and injured more than 127,000 others in their attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 2023. However, the true numbers of fatalities are estimated to be much higher. The identified dead include more than 15,000 children, 463 aid workers, 319 UN staff members, 1,580 healthcare workers, and 224 journalists.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces reportedly continue to target and kill people trying to access food supplies at militarized distribution centers. Hospitals report receiving at least 245 fatalities and over 2,150 injuries from these areas near distribution sites over the past two weeks.
On Thursday, Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian chief and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a statement that attacks on civilians in Gaza — including the killing and injuring of hungry people seeking food and those delivering aid — are "unacceptable."
Fletcher also stated that UN convoys carrying humanitarian aid have been intercepted by armed Palestinian gangs, endangering staff and drivers.
“Civilians in desperate need of the food we're able to bring in have not been spared; some have been shot by Israeli forces, and others crushed by trucks or stabbed while trying to retrieve food,” he said.
He noted that other incidents have involved militarized distribution centers, where starving people report Israeli forces opening fire on them.
“Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos, and the loss of more lives,” Fletcher said.
“Hunger must never be met with bullets. Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work. Lifesaving aid must reach people in need, in line with humanitarian principles.”
For several days now, people have been killed or injured around aid distribution sites run by the Gaza "Humanitarian" Foundation (GHF), which was set up by Israel and the United States in violation of international humanitarian law.
The United Nations, humanitarian organizations, human rights organizations, and most countries around the world firmly oppose the GHF. Despite having "humanitarian" in its name, the entity is regarded as the very opposite of a humanitarian organization. Its establishment for the purpose of weaponizing aid may be considered a crime against humanity or part of a genocide.
The GHF attempts to circumvent the UN and its agencies, which have long delivered humanitarian aid and basic services to Gazans in accordance with international humanitarian law, relevant UN resolutions, and the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.
The entity fails to adhere to humanitarian principles at all levels because it is neither based on humanity nor independent, neutral, or impartial. Militarized distribution centers operate in close coordination with Israeli forces and are run by private military contractors.
Following 80 days of a total Israeli blockade of all commercial and humanitarian supplies, humanitarian needs in Gaza have exploded. The limited amounts of aid now entering the territory are nowhere near sufficient to support the 2.1 million people who are in desperate need of emergency aid.
The GHF aid distribution centers were established after Israel implemented a total blockade of Gaza, preventing food, medicine, and commercial goods from entering the territory and blocking UN agencies and non-governmental organizations from reaching starving civilians with desperately needed aid.
On Friday, the international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a statement saying that the "trickle of aid" currently entering Gaza "has hardly made a dent."
"This is not collateral damage – it is a deliberate strategy to create conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza in whole or in part. This did not just begin with the latest escalation – over 18 years of blockade on Gaza and 19 months of hostilities, Israeli authorities have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, including extermination, and acts of genocide," said Omar Shakir, HRW's Israel and Palestine director.
"Instead of halting these atrocities, the US, Israel’s chief backer, is facilitating them—supplying the bombs, providing the backing for accelerating ethnic cleansing, and now supporting and thereby legitimizing this dystopian aid scheme."
At the same time, the Israeli government continues to obstruct principled humanitarian aid, which severely violates international humanitarian law. The number of supplies allowed into Gaza is far less than what is needed to address the urgent needs of 2.1 million people, especially since the entire population of Gaza is at risk of famine.
Human rights organizations and human rights experts have found that the blockade and obstruction of humanitarian aid constitute flagrant war crimes and are part of a genocide against Gaza's population. The Israeli government's actions are apparently intended to deliberately inflict living conditions calculated to physically destroy a group or part of a group, as defined in the Genocide Convention.
Meanwhile, Israel's war in Gaza continues to be marked by grave war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Israeli military and government officials. These crimes include collective punishment of civilians, using starvation as a method of warfare, denying humanitarian aid, targeting civilians, targeting aid workers, indiscriminately killings, carrying out disproportionate attacks, deliberately attacking civilian objects, attacking undefended buildings, forced transfers, torture, and enforced disappearances.
Despite being accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, some of the worst crimes known to humanity, the Israeli government continues to receive financial, military, economic, and political support from the United States and a few other allies.
On Thursday, the UN General Assembly (GA) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution demanding that Israel immediately end the blockade of Gaza, open all border crossings, and ensure that aid reaches the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip at scale and without delay.
The resolution was backed by 149 member states, with 12 voting against it and 19 abstaining. Those opposing the resolution included the United States and Israel, as well as other pariah states such as Argentina, Hungary, and Paraguay.
This decision followed the Security Council's failure on June 4 to adopt a resolution on the matter due to a veto by the United States, a permanent member, despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation body.
The GA strongly condemned any use of starving civilians as a method of warfare, as well as the unlawful denial of humanitarian access. Moreover, the GA stressed the obligation to not deprive civilians in the Gaza Strip of items essential to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supplies and access.
The resolution demanded an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire, as well as compliance with international law by all parties to the conflict, particularly with regard to the conduct of hostilities and the protection of civilians.
In the meantime, the fuel blockade imposed by Israeli authorities continues for more than 100 days. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), sufficient fuel supplies are paramount for maintaining essential life-saving services in Gaza, including intensive care units, as well as critical health, water, and sanitation services.
OCHA also warns that the complete collapse of internet and data services is paralyzing aid operations across Gaza. The territory has been without internet or data connectivity since the last fiber cable serving the central and southern areas of the Strip was cut on Thursday following intense Israeli attacks.
This telecommunications outage has massively disrupted humanitarian operations. As the outage continues, aid agencies are unable to communicate or coordinate response activities. People in need remain isolated and without information about how to access life-saving support and emergency services.