Gaza health authorities report that at least 549 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid at U.S. and Israeli-backed distribution sites—a devastating outcome in a conflict zone where hunger has become a weapon. According to Gaza’s health ministry, the majority of these deaths occurred near U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and U.N. food trucks since late May .
Incidents include at least 51 killed near Khan Younis in mid-June, 59 killed by tank shelling in a crowded area in southern Gaza, and 140 fatalities reported over a single day—14 of them at an aid site along Salahuddin road—when gunfire and shelling erupted amid panicked crowds . These chilling numbers expose a crisis within a crisis: seeking food has become a lethal gamble.
The U.S. government recently approved a $30 million grant to the GHF, bypassing standard financial oversight to increase food deliveries . But critics argue the GHF system is dangerous—and the U.N. has condemned it as “inadequate” and “violating humanitarian principles” for directing aid under military guard.
Doctors Without Borders reports that in the chaos, medics are donating blood to survivors amid overcrowded hospitals and grouping bodies in field tents—signs that Gaza’s already overwhelmed health infrastructure is nearing collapse . The Norwegian Refugee Council flagged the situation as reminiscent of dystopian “Hunger Games,” where few survive while many perish in the scramble .
Israel defends the shootings, stating troops fired warning shots at “suspects” approaching aid trucks, and that many killings were due to live fire intended to protect soldiers. These claims contrast sharply with Palestinian and UN accounts of unprovoked attacks on civilians simply trying to feed their families.
The broader context is grim: Gaza’s 2 million residents have endured months of siege, with the death toll now reaching nearly 56,000 since October 2023 and famine unfolding across the territory. These thousands of deaths at aid sites underscore the tragic reality—that humanitarian aid is becoming a battlefield.
