March 17, 2025 – Gaza Strip
Gazans remain desperate, waiting in line for aid distribution points despite gunfire and mass casualties; without food and water they would simply perish.
Aid Sites Are Now Danger Zones On June 16th, Israeli tank and gunfire killed 51 Palestinians and injured an estimated 200 others at an aid distribution site in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, while also damaging infrastructure around it, reports The Guardian +15 and Reuter’s +15 respectively.
Residents drawn by hunger daily to these dangerous spots is an alarming testament to the severity of humanitarian crises.
Since May 27 when the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began dispensing aid, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that over 338 people have been killed and 2,800 more wounded outside Rafah sites alone; an estimate by The Guardian can be found here and here (also Wikipedia for details).
Early in June, at least 127 were killed in near daily shootings when crowds approached aid trucks for distribution.
GHF Under Fire
The Global Humanitarian Fund, operating under U.S. and Israeli auspices, employs private contractors that operate through checkpoints enforced by Israel military. Aid groups including UN, Red Cross and Red Crescent International warn that this system is “dangerous, inadequate and politicized”, violating humanitarian principles whilst violating UN principles (The Guardian.com / Reuter’s).
Even as Israel claims they only fired warning shots at “suspected militants,” witnesses report unarmed civilians such as women and children were shot as they attempted to receive food, according to witnesses at Newyorker.com, Wikipedia and The Guardian.
One Gaza University professor reported crawling under gunfire and finding dead bodies while feeling compelled to come back every day “because he had no choice”
Reuter’s +15
Human Cost and Hunger Crisis
Aid deliveries are essential in providing life support for a population on the brink of starvation in Gaza. According to reports by the UN, its health system is crumbling, malnutrition widespread and many are at risk from starvation (reuters.com/theguardian.com, both +7)
As the enclave has been under near total blockade since October 2023, nearly 2 million people remain inside, many displaced and facing extreme need (sources include Newyorker.com, Reuter’s.com and APN News).
Humanitarian workers refer to this situation as the “Hunger Games”, in which an intense competition for food takes place amid chaos, fear and deadly force (reuters.com/+1; apnews.com/+1).
UN spokesperson called the killings at aid points “appalling”, calling for independent investigations (reuters.com +7; Wikipedia =+7)
No Alternatives and High Stakes
Unfortunately, Palestinians face few viable alternatives when faced with violence in Gaza. Food prices are skyrocketing; black markets have shut down; UN convoys have been taken off duty, leaving aid distribution points as the sole sources of sustenance. Although violence discourages some from returning home, most admit survival necessitates desperation to survive.
“People don’t return because they are brave; they return because they must,” explained one local aid volunteer to sum up the grim reality on the ground.
International Pressure Increases
World leaders are responding, with some governments condemning Israel’s tactics while NGOs demand greater access and neutrality in aid delivery. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has advocated restraint and called for an independent inquiry into mass shootings that took place last week.
At the G7 summit, leaders voiced concern for Gaza as it neared collapse and warned against politicized aid systems which may worsen civilian suffering, according to The Guardian and Financial Times respectively.
What Lies Ahead
With violence around aid points continuing, international pressure to redesign humanitarian delivery under neutral oversight increases. Without an immediate ceasefire or diplomatic breakthrough being reached, Palestinians will likely return to these perilous aid hubs hoping they’ll save them from starvation even under fire.