More than 600 Palestinians have been killed while trying to obtain humanitarian aid, including 509 near sites run by the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” in Gaza since late May, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Of the total, at least 509 were killed near sites operated by the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” a U.S.- and Israeli-supported mechanism that has drawn widespread condemnation from humanitarian agencies for bypassing established relief frameworks.
UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani stated in Geneva that “we’ve recorded 613 fatalities at or near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution points and humanitarian convoys up to June 27. Additional incidents have occurred since that time.”
The “Foundation” employs private American security and logistics firms to deliver aid, sidelining the UN-led coordination mechanism that traditionally oversees humanitarian access.
Israel alleged that Palestinian fighters “exploited the UN system to divert aid,” a claim refuted by humanitarian agencies, which have deemed the Foundation’s operation “inherently unsafe” and a violation of core principles of neutrality.
Eyewitnesses and rights organization report live ammunition and crowd-control weaponry being deployed against desperate civilians seeking food, exacerbating Gaza’s ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
Legal Framework: Violations of International Humanitarian Law
International humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, imposes strict obligations on occupying powers to ensure the welfare of civilian populations under their control.
Article 55 mandates the provision of food and medical supplies, while Article 59 states that relief schemes must be permitted and facilitated.
The actions reported at Gaza aid distribution points, ranging from lethal force against civilians to the deliberate obstruction of coordinated aid, raise serious concerns of non-compliance:
– Use of excessive force: The deaths of civilians queuing for aid may constitute violations of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits violence to life and person.
– Obstruction of humanitarian access: Israel’s deviation from UN mechanisms and failure to ensure safe access could be interpreted as a breach of Article 70 of Additional Protocol I, which protects relief operations.
– Accountability and independent investigation: As Shamdasani urged, an impartial inquiry is legally essential under customary international humanitarian law, which obligates states to investigate and prosecute violations of IHL.
Furthermore, Israel’s role as the occupying power, as reaffirmed by international consensus, means it bears full responsibility for public safety and humanitarian access in Gaza under Article 43 of the Hague Regulations (1907).
Calls for Accountability and Oversight
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated that truck drivers delivering aid have faced violence and looting, describing these conditions as “unacceptable.”
UN officials insist that meaningful humanitarian access must be restored through official channels.
While the Israeli occupation army has acknowledged “harm to civilians at distribution sites” and issued what it called “updated guidance to its forces,” no independent investigation has yet been conducted.
Meanwhile, major humanitarian organizations have refused to engage with the Foundation, citing opaque funding and its alignment with Israeli military goals.
A Crisis of Legal and Moral Proportions
As food shortages intensify and displacement continues, the mounting death toll linked to aid operations poses grave questions, not just about logistical failure, but about accountability under the laws of war.
With Gaza’s civilian population left vulnerable amid political maneuvering, the urgent need for impartial protection and principled humanitarian intervention has never been more apparent.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) issued a stark warning Friday, declaring that hunger in Gaza has reached catastrophic proportions. The agency reported that people are collapsing in the streets from extreme food shortages.
In an official statement shared on its Facebook page, UNRWA described a complete depletion of basic necessities, including food and medicine.
UNRWA also criticized the prevailing aid delivery system, stating that it has degraded and harmed vulnerable families—describing the process as stripping them of dignity amid fear, injury, and exhaustion.
“Families in Gaza are in desperate need,” the agency stressed. It added that attempts by civilians to access the limited supplies permitted by Israeli authorities were met with gunfire and, in some cases, physical harm caused by the aid trucks themselves.
UNRWA called for independent investigations into the fatalities and injuries linked to the current distribution process, urging an immediate end to the blockade to allow unhindered humanitarian access.
These assessments echo broader findings from UN bodies including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which have consistently criticized the militarized nature of the aid system in Gaza, citing violations of humanitarian norms and the dangerous conditions imposed on civilians seeking basic survival.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army issued a warning on Friday to all residents in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, ordering an immediate evacuation.
The military stated that intense operations were underway and that it would target any site allegedly used to “launch rockets toward Israel.”
The orders specifically named blocs 107 through 112, as well as the eastern section of bloc 88, ordering all Palestinians to evacuate westward and avoid returning to conflict zones that pose “grave danger” to their lives.
Israel has now killed at least 57,130 Palestinians, including 17,131 children, 10,190 women, 4,147 elderly, and 256 journalists, and injured more than 135,130, largely children and women, in the Gaza Strip, since October 7, 2023.
Among the slain Palestinians are more than 6,572, in addition to 23,132 wounded, since Israel violated the ceasefire deal on March 18, 2025.
The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that the number of slain Palestinians while trying to obtain humanitarian aid is more than 652, in addition to at least 4,537 injured, and added that those numbers are only those who were moved to hospitals and clinics.
