"When lining up for necessities like food and medicine, they face the impossible choice between being shot or going hungry. This is unacceptable", Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said on 11/7 regarding the situation of Gaza's residents.
According to Shamdasani, the OHCHR recorded 615 people killed near Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) distribution points and 183 alleged incidents along aid convoy routes between 27/5 and 7/7.
The GHF is a US-based organization backed by the US and Israeli governments to provide humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, bypassing the extensive UN-managed distribution network in the territory.
The GHF began operating in late May when Israel eased its aid blockade on Gaza. The UN refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns that the organization was established to serve Israel's military objectives in the strip.
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A woman mourns at a relative's funeral in northern Gaza on 11/7. Photo: AFP |
A woman mourns at a relative's funeral in northern Gaza on 11/7. Photo: AFP
When asked to comment on the UN figures, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has made efforts to minimize the risk of clashes between aid recipients and Israeli soldiers and has "carefully reviewed" reports of civilian casualties at aid distribution sites.
"We have issued instructions to our forces in the field after learning from experience", the IDF said, without elaborating.
The Israeli military is frequently accused of firing on Palestinians seeking aid. Gaza's civil defense agency said 10 Palestinians were killed on 11/7 while waiting at an aid distribution point near the southern city of Rafah.
The IDF has not commented on this information, but has previously accused local armed groups of firing on civilians near aid distribution points.
Meanwhile, the GHF called the UN report "false and misleading", claiming that "the majority of fatal attacks at aid distribution points are related to UN convoys".
This information comes as Israel and the armed group Hamas are negotiating in Doha, Qatar, to reach a ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed hope on 10/7 that the two sides would agree on a two-month truce in the coming days before continuing negotiations to end the fighting in Gaza completely.
Hamas said that Israel's failure to allow free flow of aid into the territory is a major obstacle in the negotiations, as more than two million Gaza residents face a severe humanitarian crisis due to food and medicine shortages.
Pham Giang (According to AFP, Reuters)
