Fifty killed in Gaza, many trying to reach food, as UN denounces Israeli-backed aid system

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) -Israeli fire killed at least 50 people on Monday, nearly half of them near an aid distribution site run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the territory's Health Ministry said, as U.N. officials denounced Israeli-backed aid delivery methods.

Medics said at least 23 of those people were killed and 200 others wounded near an aid distribution site in Rafah, the latest in daily mass shootings that have killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food since Israel imposed a new distribution system after partly lifting a near three-month total blockade.

Israel has put responsibility for distributing much of the aid it allows into Gaza into the hands of a new U.S.-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates three sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops. The United Nations has rejected the plan, saying GHF distribution is inadequate, dangerous and violates humanitarian impartiality principles.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about Monday's reports of shootings. In previous incidents, it has occasionally acknowledged troops opening fire near aid sites, while blaming militants for provoking the violence.

The GHF said in a statement late on Monday that it has distributed more than 3 million meals at its four distribution sites without incident.

Relatives arrived at Nasser Hospital to mourn the dead. Women and children wept beside bodies wrapped in white shrouds.

“We went there thinking we would get aid to feed our children, but it turned out to be a trap, a killing. I advise everyone: don’t go there," said Ahmed Fayad, one of those who tried to reach aid on Monday.

'LETHAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM'

Later on Monday, local health authorities said Israeli gunfire killed at least five people and wounded dozens of others as crowds of Palestinians gathered along the coastal road awaiting U.N.-funded aid trucks to enter the northern Gaza area.

Witnesses said dozens of desperate people looted four truckloads of food packages.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Palestinian refugees agency UNRWA, said in a post on X: "Scores of people have been killed & injured in the past days, including of starving people trying to get some food from a lethal distribution system."

Before the new system was set up, aid had been distributed to Gaza's 2.3 million residents mainly by U.N. agencies such as UNRWA, which employ thousands of staff inside Gaza and operate hundreds of sites across the enclave.

Israel says it has had to crack down on distribution because Hamas fighters were diverting food aid. The militants deny this and say Israel is using hunger as a weapon.

Lazzarini said Israel had not lifted restrictions on U.N. agencies including UNRWA bringing in aid, despite an abundance of assistance ready to be moved into the enclave.

On Sunday, COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that this week it had facilitated the entry of 292 trucks with humanitarian aid from the United Nations and the international community, including food and flour, into Gaza.

It said the Israeli military would continue to permit the entry of humanitarian aid while ensuring it did not reach Hamas.

Before Monday's incident, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 300 people had been killed, and more than 2,600 wounded, near aid distribution sites since the GHF began operations.

On Sunday, at least five people were killed as thousands of Palestinians approached two GHF distribution sites in the central and southern parts of the enclave.

The GHF said in a statement that it resumed food deliveries on Sunday, distributing more than 2 million meals from its three distribution sites without incident.

The war in Gaza erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants raided Israel and took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on October 7, 2023, Israel's single deadliest day.

Israel's military campaign since then has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip. Most of the population is displaced, and widespread malnutrition is a significant concern.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in CairoAdditional reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva and Hatem Khaled in GazaEditing by Peter Graff and Rod Nickel)