MORE than 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces at aid sites and near humanitarian convoys, figures from the United Nations have shown.
The United Nations human rights office said it recorded at least 613 Palestinians have been killed, with 509 of the deaths occurring at the controversial aid points run by the Israeli and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The Gaza Health Ministry said that it believes the number of deaths at aid sites is more than 650, with those who have been wounded exceeding 4000.
It comes after 94 Palestinians were killed in Gaza overnight on Thursday, including 45 who were attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said.
The GHF began distributing limited food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of deliveries which the UN says is neither impartial nor neutral.
More than 130 humanitarian organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International, demanded the immediate closure of the GHF this week, accusing it of facilitating attacks on starving Palestinians.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said, “it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points” operated by GHF.
Shamdasani said the figures covered the period from May 27 to June 27, and “there have been further incidents” since then.
Shamdasani said the figures, compiled through its standard vetting processes, were not likely to tell a complete picture, and “we will perhaps never be able to grasp the full scale of what’s happening here because of the lack of access” for UN teams to the areas.
In a message to The Associated Press, Shamdasani said that of the total deaths, 509 killings were “GHF-related”, meaning at or near its distribution sites.
“Information keeps coming in,” she added. “This is ongoing and it is unacceptable.”
She said she was basing the information on an internal situation report at the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside its immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel’s military.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which carried out aid distribution for decades before the GHF took over in May, has called for investigations into the killings and wounding of Palestinians trying to access food.
UNRWA said that while it operated about 400 sites across the territory, GHF has set up only four “mega-sites”, three in the south and one in central Gaza with none in the north, where humanitarian conditions are most severe.
More deaths reported near aid distribution sites occurred overnight on Friday, according to officials in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
At least three Palestinians were killed near aid sites in Rafah, which is close to two operated by GHF. Another 17 were killed waiting for trucks to pass by in eastern Khan Younis in the Tahliya area.
Meanwhile, 15 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes, including eight women and one child, the hospital said. The strikes hit the Muwasi area, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering in tents.
