Gaza: Guterres urges probe into killings at food distribution sites

More than 30 people were killed and over 100 wounded while waiting in the morning to get food from two sites in Rafah and Middle Gaza run by the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to media reports.

The organization is backed by Israel and the United States and uses private US security contractors supervised by the Israeli military. Aid distributions began at the end of May, bypassing the UN and other humanitarian agencies.

Risking their lives

UN chief António Guterres issued a statement on Monday saying he was “appalled” by the reports.

“It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” he said.

“I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable."

He stressed that Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian aid. 

Allow UN operations

“The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately,” he said.

“The UN must be allowed to work in safety and security under conditions of full respect of humanitarian principles.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate permanent, sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

“This is the only path to ensuring security for all. There is no military solution to the conflict,” he insisted.

Lift aid restrictions

The UN has repeatedly called for the full lifting of restrictions on aid and other essentials to meet the immense needs in the Gaza Strip, where more than two million people are at risk of famine following some 20 months of war and a near total three-month aid blockade.

Israel recently lifted the ban temporarily, allowing UN agencies to bring in limited quantities of baby formula, flour, medicines and other assistance through the Kerem Shalom border crossing until the GHF became operational.

The Secretary-General and other senior officials have repeatedly stated that the UN will not participate in any aid plan that does not respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. 

Worsening conditions

The UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA said on Monday that the situation on the ground continues to worsen by the day, pointing to the mass casualties at the two distribution sites as well as ongoing attacks against health facilities.

The Noura Al Kaabi Centre for dialysis in North Gaza was reportedly hit on Sunday, the agency said. Moreover, the Gaza health authorities report that 40 per cent of dialysis patients in the enclave have died since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023 because centres were either struck or unreachable.

New displacement order

“As hostilities continue, people have once again been forced to flee,” OCHA said.

On Saturday, Israel issued another displacement order in Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah, affecting around 100,000 people living in more than 200 displacement sites. 

Humanitarians estimate that since 18 March, more than 640,000 people have been displaced in Gaza, or nearly a third of the population.

“The latest displacement order also deprived at least 8,000 students of learning, as tens of functioning temporary learning spaces and a dozen public schools had to suspend their operations,” OCHA added.

Child malnutrition and looting 

The UN and partners continue efforts to identify and treat malnutrition whenever possible and as dwindling supplies allow, distributing supplements to about 40,000 children last week despite severe challenges and restrictions on humanitarian assistance. 

Meanwhile, looting incidents continue to be reported amid the deprivation, hunger and lack of adequate food distribution.

“The vast majority are people taking flour directly from open trucks, out of clear desperation. However, humanitarian teams have also started observing some criminal looting again,” OCHA said.

Water woes persist

Gazans also continue to be plagued by frequent water shortages. For example, the pipeline in Deir Al-Balah, which supplied at least 12,000 cubic metres every day, is still not operational.

“Humanitarians’ attempts to carry out coordinated missions to repair it have been denied,” said OCHA, noting that on Monday, Israel also denied five missions to distribute potable water in displacement camps in Jabaliya, located in North Gaza.

Attempts to deliver aid

OCHA added that over the weekend, the UN and partners kept working to bring supplies through the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing.

More than 100 truckloads of food and medical supplies were picked up on Saturday and Sunday, bringing to more than 300 the number of truckloads collected from the Gaza side of the crossing since it was reopened.

“Today, one of our attempts to collect supplies from Kerem Shalom was denied. Another was still ongoing, awaiting a green light from Israeli authorities, a pause in the bombing along the route, and the allocation of a viable path,” the agency said.

OCHA stressed that “even when the crossing is open, severe restrictions on what humanitarians can bring in – both in terms of volume and variety – mean that the supplies currently entering Gaza are still just a trickle and fall far short of what people need.”