This is where more than 400 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in recent weeks while trying to access desperately needed humanitarian aid.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has called on the Israeli military to immediately cease the use of lethal force near aid convoys and food distribution points. The office described the incidents as “horrifying” and warned that they could amount to war crimes under international law.
“We are horrified at the repeated incidents, continuously reported in recent days across Gaza, and we call for an immediate end to these senseless killings,” the OHCHR said in a statement on this week.
Since the start of food distribution operations by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on May 27, an initiative reportedly supported by Israel and the United States but operating outside of the established UN-led humanitarian system, hundreds have been killed and many more injured near at least four food distribution points.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred on June 17 when Israeli shelling reportedly struck a crowd waiting for UN food trucks in southern Gaza. According to Gaza health officials, the attack killed at least 51 people and wounded around 200 others. A day earlier, three Palestinians were killed in a similar incident in Beit Lahiya.
OHCHR stated there was “no information to suggest that the people killed or injured were involved in hostilities or posed any threat to the Israeli military or GHF staff.”
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) echoed the call for civilian protection and described the violence as “completely unacceptable.” WFP says it has only been able to deliver 9 000 metric tons of food into Gaza over the past month, an amount far short of what is required to meet the needs of the 2.1 million people trapped in the territory.
“Far too many people have died while trying to access the trickle of food aid coming in,” WFP said, stressing that the desperate need for food has pushed large crowds to wait along key transport routes in hopes of receiving supplies.
--UN/ChannelAfrica--
