Israel kills aid seekers in Gaza and issues new expulsion orders

Israel has killed more than 45 people in a series of attacks across the Gaza Strip since Sunday morning, half of whom were targeted while waiting for aid at US-Israeli distribution points. 

Gaza's civil defence agency reported that at least 23 Palestinians were killed near distribution points and trucks, including near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, in Rafah in the south and near an aid entry route in al-Sudaniya in the northwest.

Mohammad al-Mughayyir, an official from the agency, told AFP that al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza received eight bodies and 125 wounded after Israeli drone strikes targeted people gathered near an aid distribution centre by the Netzarim Corridor.

In late May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a plan to allow limited aid into Gaza and turn over distribution efforts to the US-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

United Nations experts have said the plan aligns with Israel’s goal of the forced displacement of Palestinians as well as shrinking, if not eradicating, the UN’s role in Gaza.

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Unlike the UN-run system it was designed to replace, GHF coordinates its operations closely with the Israeli government.

Since its operations began, at least 300 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded while seeking food at distribution sites, which are guarded by US private military contractors and overseen by Israeli forces.

With Gaza experiencing a deepening humanitarian crisis as a result of Israel's months-long siege and continued bombardment, the Israel-US aid initiative has only exacerbated the suffering in the enclave. 

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef), described the situation in Gaza as "bleak, horrific, and hopeless", noting that displacement and starvation have been rife among civilians in the blockaded strip. 

"The people of Gaza are living through harsh nights under bombardment, and they spend their days fleeing hunger and explosions," he said, adding that "everything we knew about people's resilience has been completely shattered".

"The world seems preoccupied only with seeing the wounded and talking about aid, ignoring the enormous psychological burden the population is experiencing, and the harsh reality for families forced to flee repeatedly after losing everything."

Elder also criticised GHF, describing it as "military in nature", especially with its limited distribution points located in the south of Gaza.

"This system leads to daily casualties, with children being killed simply because they were trying to get a box of food," he said.

Elder explained that the newly created Israeli-US aid delivery and distribution system is "deliberately designed" to push the population from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip, threatening to undermine the relief distribution systems previously in place. 

"Humanitarian aid may only amount to 10 percent of what people actually need. Far more bombs and rockets are entering Gaza than food," Elder stressed. 

Attacks and displacement in health facilities

In the same interview, Elder highlighted the severe shortages facing hospitals in Gaza and the extremely difficult conditions under which medical staff are operating.

The Unicef spokesperson warned that children experiencing acute malnutrition are particularly vulnerable and have a "likelihood of dying from simple causes by 10 times". He added that access to hospitals in Gaza is no longer safe for ill or malnourished children.

"This is the deadly cycle that kills children: malnutrition, water contamination, and lack of basic healthcare."

Gaza's healthcare has been severely undermined as a result of Israel's war on Gaza.

According to the latest press release by the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, the few remaining operational health facilities in the besieged enclave are under severe threat due to a lack of medical supplies, continued forced expulsion orders and ongoing shelling.

"Repeated threats of evacuations and shelling of areas surrounding hospitals are disrupting the work of medical staff and threatening to put the remaining hospitals out of service," the ministry said. 

The statement also noted that medical staff, patients and the wounded "lack safe routes to reach hospitals" amid the continued displacement orders issued by the Israeli military and shelling. 

"We cannot wait any longer to implement temporary interventions that do not meet the minimum requirements for providing emergency and routine healthcare," it said.

"The [Palestinian] Ministry of Health warns of the Israeli occupation's failure to respond to international organizations' efforts to increase medical supplies, protect hospitals, and ensure the safe access of patients, the wounded, and health teams to service delivery sites."

Israel's over 600-day assault on Gaza has resulted in the killing of over 55,297 people and the wounding of 128,426 others.

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