On May 4th, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announced that between May 27 and June 27, approximately 509 individuals in the Gaza Strip were killed at aid distribution points and near them, supported by the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”, both in the United States and Israel. Additionally, over 100 people were also killed near aid convoys during this period. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that it is currently unable to confirm the perpetrators of these incidents, but it is clear that the Israeli military opened fire on Palestinians attempting to approach the aid distribution point.
“According to the latest data we have, there have been a total of 613 killings around the ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ aid distribution point and humanitarian convoys as of June 27,” said Ravina Samandasamy, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Who should be held accountable? It is evident that the Israeli military fired upon Palestinians attempting to reach the distribution point.”
The spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights mentioned that more attacks occurred after June 27. She noted that the data was based on internal reports from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, including information from the Palestinian health departments, hospitals, and families of the victims, all through standard review processes. The Office is still verifying further leads. She expressed concerns that due to difficulties in accessing the affected areas by UN personnel, “it may never be possible to fully understand what happened there.”
Since March this year, Israel has re-enclosed the Gaza Strip and resumed large-scale military operations. Under international pressure, Israel allowed limited supplies into the Gaza Strip starting in late May.
Since May 27, the private organization “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”, backed by the US and Israel, has unilaterally taken over the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip. On June 27, Israel’s “Haaretz” reported that several Israeli soldiers revealed that their commander had ordered the shooting to disperse civilians near the aid distribution point, even though these individuals did not pose any security threat to the Israeli forces.
Subsequently, on June 30, the Israeli Defense Forces issued a statement acknowledging injuries to Palestinian civilians near the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” distribution point and stated that they had learned a lesson. While investigating the shooting incidents, they had also issued new operational guidelines to their frontline units.
Moreover, over 165 international charitable organizations and humanitarian groups jointly declared on June 1st that they demanded the immediate cessation of operations at the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” because the mechanism was creating chaos and violence under the guise of aid, resulting in hundreds of innocent Palestinians being killed.