Starving civilians, targeted relief sites—how Gaza’s lifeline is being turned into a death trap.
While the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict has captivated global attention, innocent and unarmed Palestinians continue to be killed in Gaza. Reportedly, over 450 Palestinians have been killed near aid or food distribution centres operated by an American relief organisation. Yet, the so-called Islamic countries—and even India, which has long championed the Palestinian cause—remain silent. The question is: How long should the world allow these brutal and inhuman killings of hungry Palestinians by Israeli forces to continue?
For the last 13 days, it seems the world has once again forgotten Gaza. During this period, several reports have emerged of unarmed Palestinians being gunned down by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
On June 17, 70 Palestinians were killed in a single day during the distribution of US-Israeli aid in southern Gaza—specifically in Khan Younis and Rafah—under the now-familiar justification of “protecting American aid workers.”
The Times of Israel reported on June 25 that, in Gaza, Israeli forces killed 71 Palestinians on June 24 alone, including at least 50 people waiting to receive aid. Among the dead were at least 27 civilians killed in an Israeli strike on people waiting for food in central Gaza. The attack also wounded dozens and turned the relief site into what one Palestinian official described as an “open field of death.”
In response to the reported deaths, the IDF later claimed that a gathering had been identified overnight in an area “adjacent” to its troops in the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, where the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is known to distribute food.
Earlier this month, the IDF had warned Palestinians not to approach routes leading to GHF sites between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time, describing those roads as closed military zones. However, the GHF has contradicted this, suggesting it may be open during those hours.
In central Gaza, three witnesses told the Associated Press that the army opened fire as people moved east toward aid trucks south of Wadi Gaza. “It was a massacre,” said Ahmed Halawa. He said tanks and drones fired at people “even as we were fleeing. Many people were either martyred or wounded.”
Another eyewitness, Hossam Abu Shahada, said drones were flying overhead, monitoring the crowd, when gunfire erupted from tanks and drones as people moved eastward. He described a “chaotic and bloody” scene as people tried to escape, saying he saw at least three people lying motionless and many others wounded.
In the southernmost city of Rafah, witnesses reported that Israeli troops opened fire as crowds approached another food distribution site run by GHF. Two witnesses said Israeli troops started firing as thousands of Palestinians gathered in the Shakoush area, several hundred metres from the site.
According to figures released on Saturday by the Hamas-run health ministry, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire while seeking aid since late May. Many of these incidents occurred near GHF sites, according to rescuers.
GHF, a US- and Israeli-backed organisation established to bypass Hamas in the distribution of aid, issued a complaint on Tuesday to the Israeli military over “possible harassment by Israeli soldiers directed at our convoys” heading to the Wadi Gaza site.
Israel claimed that 79 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Monday via the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. It has acknowledged firing warning shots at “suspicious” individuals near distribution sites but denies targeting civilians or using starvation as a weapon of war. It has accused Hamas of hijacking aid and embedding itself among civilians.
International Response
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said, “Israel has militarised the humanitarian assistance mechanism.”
Asked whether Israel was guilty of weaponising food distribution, he responded:
“The legal qualification must be made by a court of law. However, the weaponisation of food for civilians—along with restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services—constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may amount to other crimes under international law.”
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees also condemned the GHF system. “The newly created so-called aid mechanism is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said at a press conference in Berlin. “It is a death trap costing more lives than it saves.”
He added: “The humanitarian community, including UNRWA, has the expertise and must be allowed to do their job and provide assistance with respect and dignity. There is no alternative to addressing the growing hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel has accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas operatives and earlier this year banned the agency from operating on Israeli soil or engaging with its officials.
The UN and major aid organisations have refused to cooperate with GHF, citing concerns that it was designed to serve Israeli military objectives. GHF began operations in Gaza after Israel imposed a nearly three-month blockade following the collapse of the last ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas in early March.
Also Read: Starving Innocence: Human Cost of Gaza’s Siege
Aid deliveries to Gaza resumed on May 19 after a pause since March 2. Since then, 2,033 trucks have entered the Strip.
The BBC reported that—excluding the most recent deaths—the UN has already documented over 410 Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire or shelling since GHF began operations in late May.
Where Are the Islamic Nations?
One cannot help but ask: Where are the so-called Islamic countries as this humanitarian catastrophe unfolds? None has voiced genuine condemnation or offered an aid plan of their own.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the largest collective of Islamic nations, appears more preoccupied with the plight of Indian Muslims than the slaughter taking place closer to home.
In a powerful first-person account for Truthout.org, Dalia Abu Ramadan rightly observed that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is not merely a tragedy—it is a systemic catastrophe affecting all living beings. Since the war began, even animals have not been spared: horses and donkeys are deliberately targeted to prevent their use in aid and survival.
“This intentional targeting,” she wrote, “is part of a systematic strategy to immobilise the population and deepen our suffering.” Once essential to daily life, these animals are now dying of starvation or direct attack. 
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Asad Mirza
The author is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on national and international affairs, defence and strategic issues, and environmental concerns. He is also an interfaith practitioner and a media consultant. Previously, he was associated with the BBC Urdu Service and the Khaleej Times in Dubai.
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