Hundreds Die Seeking Aid in Gaza Amid Distribution Chaos

The UN reports that nearly 800 people have perished in Gaza since late May while trying to obtain humanitarian assistance, many near sites managed by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Mounting Casualties at Aid Sites

Operations by the officially private GHF began on May 26, following a more than two-month halt in supplies to the Gaza Strip by **Israel**, which triggered famine warnings. According to **Ravina Shamdasani**, spokesperson for the UN rights office, 615 deaths were recorded near GHF sites between the start of operations and July 7.

Additionally, **Shamdasani** told reporters in Geneva, another 183 individuals were killed, “presumably on the routes of aid convoys” managed by the UN and other relief organizations. “This is nearly 800 people who have been killed while trying to access aid,” she stated, noting that “most of the injuries are gunshot injuries.”

Concerns Over Aid Distribution

GHF operations, which have effectively bypassed the UN’s vast aid delivery network in Gaza, have been plagued by chaotic scenes and repeated reports of **Israeli** forces shooting at people waiting for rations.

The GHF, claiming to have distributed over 69 million meals to date, disputes that deadly shootings have occurred in close proximity to its aid distribution points. Despite this, humanitarian access to the region remains severely restricted, with only a fraction of the needed aid reaching those in need, exacerbating the crisis (UN OCHA 2024).

Israeli Military Response

The **Israeli** army has blamed Hamas for firing at civilians near aid centers. On Friday, the army announced it had issued new instructions to its forces in the field “following lessons learned” from deadly incidents at distribution facilities.

The army explained it “allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.”

The army added that it has been working to reorganize the area, including “the installation of fences, signage placement, the opening of additional routes, and other measures.” It stressed that “following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted,” and that these incidents are “under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”

UN Calls for Respect of Humanitarian Law

**Shamdasani** emphasized that the UN rights office has repeatedly voiced “serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law principles” in the Gaza war, which began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on **Israel**.

“Where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food and medicine, and where they are being attacked, where… they have a choice between being shot or being fed, this is unacceptable,” she stated.

Background of the Conflict

The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern **Israel**, resulting in about 1,200 deaths and the capture of 251 hostages, according to **Israeli** tallies. **Israel**’s subsequent military operation in Gaza has reportedly killed nearly 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, displacing almost the entire population of 2.3 million and causing a severe hunger crisis.