By Agence France-Presse
A privately run aid organization brought in to distribute food rations in war-hit Gaza last month with U.S. and Israeli backing said Saturday that people in the Palestinian territory “desperately need more aid”.
The admission by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that it has been unable to meet demand came after severe criticism from other aid groups and near-daily deadly shootings near distribution points.
Gaza’s civil defense agency said on Saturday, June 21, that Israeli troops had killed at least 17 people, including eight who were seeking food in the territory, which is suffering from famine-like conditions due to Israeli restrictions, according to aid groups.
In a statement on Saturday, GHF interim executive director John Acree said that the organization was “delivering aid at scale, securely and effectively… But we cannot meet the full scale of need while large parts of Gaza remain closed.”
He said the GHF was “working with the government of Israel to honor its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza”
“The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most,” Acree said.
GHF’s operations have been slammed as a “failure” by the United Nations, while other aid groups have raised concerns about the group’s opaque structure and neutrality in the conflict that has been raging since October 2023.
According to figures issued on Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire since GHF began distributing meal boxes in late May.
GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services. It has said deaths have occurred near UN food convoys.
On June 16, the head of aid group Doctors Without Borders, Christopher Lockyear, said that the “imposed system of aid delivery” in Gaza was “not only a failure, but it is dehumanizing and dangerous”.
Israel’s military has continued its operations in Gaza, even as attention has shifted to its ongoing war with Iran since June 13.
Restrictions
Israel’s ban on foreign media entering the Gaza Strip and difficulties for local journalists to travel in the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.
The Israeli army told AFP on Saturday, June 21, that it was “looking into” the deaths which the civil defense agency reported near GHF distribution centers.
In the past, the military has said that its troops have fired on crowds approaching them in a threatening fashion and only after warning shots. Witnesses have told AFP about injuries caused by drones and tank rounds.
Civil Defense Spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire in the southern Gaza Strip, with another five killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving rations from a GHF center.
Earlier this week, the UN’s World Health Organization warned that Gaza’s health system was at a “breaking point”, pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running.
The Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.
