At least 798 people have died while seeking food aid at distribution points and convoy routes in Gaza since late May, the UN’s human rights office (OHCHR) revealed Friday, according to a report published by The Guardian. “Up until the seventh of July, we have recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani reportedly said.
Deadly Attacks at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the US and Israel, operates four food distribution zones but has faced heavy criticism. Rights groups say it violates humanitarian principles of impartiality and may have been complicit in war crimes. The GHF, for its part, has consitently dismissed UN figures as “false and misleading,” claiming “the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys.”
Growing Hunger and Medical Crises in Gaza
Meanwhile, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has pointed toward a “sharp and unprecedented rise in acute malnutrition” in Gaza, with cases nearly quadrupling in two months, as reported by The Guardian.
In a related development, Israeli forces recently killed at least 10 people and injured over 60 during shootings in Rafah, southern Gaza, the publication quoted Ahmad al-Farra, head of paediatrics at Nasser hospital, as saying.
The hospital, overwhelmed with “extreme overcrowding” and shortage of medical supplies and “a very high number of injured”, is reportedly facing power shortages amid sweltering heat.
Gaza Witnessing Widespread Displacement and Destruction
Reports suggest tens of thousands have fled their homes in Gaza due to heavy Israeli strikes in the recent weeks with local residents frequently witnessing missiles and shelling.
No Breakthrough Yet in Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Despite hopes for a ceasefire, violence has persisted. US President Donald Trump expressed optimism about a peace deal even as Qatari mediators warned any potential ceasefire agreement would take time. Israel has sought Hamas’s full expulsion while the Palenstinian group has demanded guarantees against renewed fighting.
Juliette Touma from UNRWA, meanwhile, warned that plans to relocate Gaza’s population would worsen the crisis, calling it “forcible displacement”.
The war, which began since Hamas’s deadly October 2023 attack, has reportedly killed over 57,000 people in Gaza.
