Hundreds of Palestinian civilians have been killed and
thousands wounded while desperately seeking food at newly established aid
points in Gaza, with multiple sources, including the United Nations, labelling
the situation a “death trap.” The controversial Israel- and US-backed aid
distribution system, designed to curb Hamas’ control, has instead drawn
worldwide condemnation amid allegations of indiscriminate violence and
humanitarian crisis.
Gaza's Aid Points: Sites of Tragedy Amid Starvation
Since late May 2025, Gaza has witnessed an alarming surge
in civilian casualties at food distribution sites, with international agencies
and media outlets reporting harrowing incidents of shootings and trauma.
What is Happening at Gaza's Food Distribution Points?
As reported by Thameen Al-Kheetan of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), nearly 900
Palestinians have been killed in recent weeks while attempting to access food,
with 674 deaths linked directly to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)
sites—private aid hubs set up under US and Israeli direction.
The United Nations reported on 16 July that
“the killings linked to the controversial US and Israeli-backed aid hubs began shortly after they started operating in southern Gaza on 27 May, bypassing the UN and other established NGOs.”
Most incidents involved live fire from Israeli forces, with
over 200 deaths also occurring on or near UN-run convoy routes.
How Many Have Died and Been Injured Seeking Aid in Gaza?
Citing United Nations and local health authorities, Ravina
Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, stated that as of 4 July, at least 613 Palestinian aid seekers had been
killed near GHF distribution points, while the total number of aid-seeker
deaths surpassed 670 according to The New York Times and BBC.
By mid-July, BBC and CNN reported new mass casualty
incidents, including at least 73 people killed and 150 injured by Israeli
gunfire on 20 July, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Al Jazeera further reported on 20 July that 115 Palestinians were killed in
a single day, including 79 shot in the northern region and 13 in the south.
Across several incidents in late June and July:
- On
13–14 June, 29 aid seekers were killed and more than 380 wounded by
Israeli fire near distribution centres (Wikipedia summary based on health
ministry and local reports).
- 24
June, local hospitals reported “at least 40 people killed” by Israeli fire
while waiting for food aid in a crowd of hundreds.
- 30
June, 23 people were reported killed in Khan Yunis after Israeli troops
and drones fired “indiscriminately,” stated Palestinian health officials
and eyewitnesses.
- The
total number of recorded injuries among aid-seekers has exceeded 4,000,
with spikes in gunshot trauma overwhelming the skeletal health
infrastructure.
Why Has the GHF Aid Distribution System Drawn Criticism?
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in a statement attributed to its emergency coordinator Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, criticised the scheme as a system forcing people
“to choose between starvation or risking their lives for minimal supplies.”Over 200 NGOs, including MSF, have called for the immediate dismantling of the Israel- and US-backed GHF system, arguing it prioritises “security controls over humanitarian principles” and turns distribution sites into death zones.
Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, speaking to MSF UK, described harrowing conditions:
“The four distribution sites, all located in areas under the full control of Israeli forces after people had been forcibly displaced, are the size of football fields surrounded by watch points, mounds of earth and barbed wire… The fenced entrance gives only one access point in or out. If people approach early or overflow the entrance, they get shot.”
Hani Abu Soud, a community member at Al-Mawasi Primary Healthcare Centre, told MSF:
“A lot of people were getting directly shot at. This is not aid – it’s a death trap.”
What Is the Israeli Military’s Response?
As reported by The New York Times, the Israeli
military has stated it is actively investigating the claims—but maintains that
the restricted aid system is necessary “to thwart Hamas from pilfering,
hoarding, and reselling food at inflated prices to civilians.”
Israel’s representatives argue that the GHF initiative was
established to replace the pre-existing United Nations aid distribution,
claiming it would help prevent militant interference. However, international
organisations counter that the new system has severely curtailed aid access and
placed civilians at increased risk.
Israeli authorities stated to Politico and BBC that their
forces have sometimes fired “warning shots” at approaching crowds or “suspects”
but dispute the scale and characterisation of the killings reported by health
officials, witnesses and international press.
What Have Survivors and Medical Staff Described?
In interviews compiled by MSF, medical workers in
Gaza have described a drastic rise in gunshot wounds among aid-seekers, noting
a 190% increase in trauma patients during the week of 8 June in the Deir
Al-Balah field hospital. Dramatic shortages of pain relief,
anaesthetics and supplies have forced families to seek care at field clinics,
with many dying before receiving treatment.
A mother named Hanan, interviewed by MSF regarding her teenage son Ashraf, recounted:
“He said he wanted to get something for his sister… Thirty minutes later, he called me, crying for help. He had been shot. This ‘aid’ is soaked in blood.”
How Has the Humanitarian Situation Evolved in Gaza?
Multiple international agencies, including the International
Rescue Committee (IRC) and the British Red Cross, depict conditions in Gaza as
catastrophic.
IRC staff described witnessing “catastrophic conditions” with more than
50,000 Palestinians killed and over 125,000 injured since October 2023, and
over two million—half children—lacking access to water, food or medical care.
As reported by Gabriel Karlsson of the British Red Cross,
“No aid trucks means more families struggling to find food, more families unable to access clean water, more families left to live without adequate shelter, and more families left in desperate need of healthcare.”Ninety percent of homes in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed, and functioning hospitals are overwhelmed, with only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals even partially operational.
What Has the United Nations and Global Community Said?
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that the new aid
system risks a famine, with almost the entire population facing acute food
insecurity and half a million facing starvation.
On 5 July, UN Secretary-General António Guterres was quoted as saying he was
“appalled” by the worsening crisis and urged all parties to ensure civilian
protection and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access.
OHCHR and UN aid officials have called for the GHF system’s
closure, restoration of the prior UN-managed aid scheme, and an immediate
ceasefire to allow significant delivery of life-saving assistance.
What Is the Broader Context of Violence and Displacement?
According to Situation Reports by UNRWA and OCHA, over
58,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 140,000 injured since October
2023, while renewed hostilities in March 2025 have led to fresh waves of
displacement and ongoing destruction of civilian infrastructure, including
homes, schools, medical facilities and water networks.
Are Famine and Disease Spreading in Gaza?
Gaza is facing “critical risk of famine,” with food, clean
water and medical supplies “nearly gone”—the conditions exacerbated by an
11-week total suspension of formal humanitarian aid, highlighted by IRC and the
British Red Cross.
OHCHR reported that people on the move in search of food and water are now
among the most likely to be shot, while rapid outbreaks of infectious
diseases—such as meningitis, diarrhoea and hepatitis—are plaguing overcrowded
communities.
What Comes Next for Gaza’s Civilians?
In calls echoed by IRC, OCHA, and dozens of international
NGOs, the consensus remains that only a ceasefire, restoration of principled
humanitarian access, and a return to internationally coordinated relief efforts
can prevent further deaths and irreversible societal damage in Gaza.
The current model of aid points, with their severe security restrictions,
continues to be widely denounced—by survivors, medical staff, agency
coordinators and journalists—for compounding civilian suffering rather than
alleviating it.