The UN rights office said on Friday it had recorded at least 798 deaths at aid distribution points in Gaza, including those run by the US, and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as well as near other convoys operated by relief organisations.
“(From 27 May) up until the seventh of July, we have recorded 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys,” UN rights office (OHCHR) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing in Geneva on Friday.
The Israel-sponsored GHF gets humanitarian supplies into the war-battered Gaza using private US security and logistics companies, largely bypassing a UN-led system.
Almost all aid going into Gaza now runs through the American aid group, which started operations in May following a months-long Israeli blockade of nearly all food and aid. Food is handed out at overcrowded and deadly sites overseen by American private security contractors and the Israeli army.
Gazans have described the sites as “American death zones” because of the contractors who patrol them.
The foundation has been shrouded in secrecy, with obscure sources of funding and several changes in leadership and management since its launch.
Israel has claimed that the system allows Hamas-led militants to loot these shipments intended for civilians, an allegation Hamas denies.
“The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid site have been linked to UN convoys,” a GHF spokesperson said. “Ultimately, the solution is more aid. If the UN (and) other humanitarian groups would collaborate with us, we could end or significantly reduce these violent incidents,” they said.
According to the OHCHR, the figures of these killings since May are based on sources such as data from hospitals in Gaza, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs and the UN agency’s partners on the ground.
Most of these injuries recorded on Palestinians since 27 May are gunshot wounds, Ms Shamdasani said, speaking about the deaths recorded in the vicinity of aid distribution hubs by the OHCHR.
“We’ve raised concerns about atrocity crimes having been committed and the risk of further atrocity crimes being committed where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food,” she said.
The GHF has said that the figures from the OHCHR are false and misleading.
Responding to the rejection of deaths of Palestinians under Israeli onslaught, the spokesperson said: “It is not helpful to issue blanket dismissals of our concerns – what is needed is investigations into why people are being killed while trying to access aid.”
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli forces opening fire on crowds trying to reach the GHF food distribution points have killed nearly 400 Palestinians and wounded more than 3,000 since aid deliveries were reinstated in late May.
Several videos from the sites show people cowering or running from gunfire, struggling to carry bags of food as they escape.
Israel cut off the supply of most food and aid to Gaza in March, causing hunger to skyrocket across the Strip. Humanitarian groups have warned that most of Gaza’s 2.2 million people are at risk of starvation unless aid deliveries are ramped up.
The GHF system began in May, but aid groups have warned it is wholly insufficient to meet the needs of the population. The UN and other humanitarian organisations have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and civilians seeking supplies, and continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted aid access.
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