Over 770 Palestinians killed at the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's aid distribution sites

The Hindu

7 days ago

At least 1,874 Palestinians have died in aid-related violence since October 2023. Of these, approximately 1,129 — about 60% — were killed in the past two months alone, coinciding with GHF's operations in the region.
Most of those killed (at least 1,597) were civilians shot by the Israeli Defense Forces while seeking aid in or around distribution sites, according to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), an international non-profit that tracks global violence.
The 'Other/Contested Claims' section in the graphic above also includes civilian deaths. However, the exact circumstances of these killings remain disputed, as the claims have been denied or refuted by the alleged perpetrators. Some of these incidents involved Israeli-backed groups rather than the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) directly, according to data compiled from news reports.
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Since May 26, aid-related killings have occurred almost daily. The violence peaked in the third week of June, with June 17 recording the highest single-day toll — 97 people.
One in four Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since May 26
Between May 26 and July 18, the ACLED data shows that 4,157 Palestinians were killed in Gaza. Of these, approximately 1,005 — about 25% — were civilians shot by the IDF while seeking aid or near aid distribution centers.
However, ACLED also records numerous incidents where civilians came under direct IDF fire, but the number of casualties could not be confirmed.
In comparison, data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reports that 4,489 Palestinians were killed between May 28 and July 16 alone, bringing the total number of Palestinian deaths since October 7, 2023, to 58,573.
Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on June 24 condemned the inhumane conditions faced by Palestinians and held both the GHF and Israel responsible. 'We are seeing scenes of chaos around the food distribution points of the 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation' and the few UN humanitarian convoys,' says Mr. Al-Kheetan.
'Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution', he adds.
Aid distribution: Over 750 of 1,129 killed were in and around GHF aid centres
Currently, aid is distributed across Gaza through two distinct channels: one facilitated by United Nations agencies, international aid organizations, and local authorities using pre-existing modes of distribution; the other through distribution sites set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Regarding the first channel — comprising the UN and various international aid agencies — Israeli authorities have imposed severe restrictions, rejecting or obstructing the majority of aid delivery requests. Between March 18 and July 15, of the 1,124 humanitarian missions or requests submitted, 633 (56.4%) were either denied (543) or withdrawn (90). Only about one-third (33%) of the missions were successfully carried out without interference from Israeli authorities.
In a briefing, the World Food Programme's (WFP) Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Carl Skau, stated that WFP teams are often stuck spending between 15 to 20 hours straight at checkpoints, fuel supplies and spare parts for vehicles are insufficient, and while there is enough food at the borders to feed the entire population for about two months, incoming supplies are not 'enough to turn the tide of hunger.'
The GHF began its aid distribution on May 26, 2025, operating across four sites in Gaza. Three of these sites were in Israeli-militarised zones in the southern region of the strip - on the northern boundary of the 'Morag corridor', and one site is near Wadi Gaza, along the Salah al-Din highway, as shown in the map below.
The area surrounding the aid distribution site near Wadi Gaza also soon came under the control of Israeli forces. As of July 23, UNOCHA reported that approximately 87.8% of the Gaza Strip is within the Israeli-militarised zone, under displacement (or evacuation) orders by the IDF, or where these overlap, as shown in the map below.
As of July 16, one of the sites (also called 'SDS1', shown above) has been closed by the GHF.
At least 771 Palestinians seeking aid have been killed in and around GHF's aid distribution centers between May 26 and July 18. Of these, 708 were reportedly killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. The number of people killed in and around GHF centers on a daily basis is shown below in red and gray.
As shown below, 68% of those killed while seeking aid died in or around GHF distribution centres.
There were at least 13 additional incidents of the IDF opening fire on civilians and injuring several while they were seeking aid or being in the vicinity of aid distribution centers. In four of these cases, casualty figures remain unknown.
Israel-backed armed groups and the anatomy of contested claims
The data presented is collated by checking local and international news reports. When it comes to the killings over aid, the 'Others/contested claims' silo in the graphics above is essentially a mixture of the following scenarios:
Armed Palestinian gang members or militia looting aid trucks and opening fire on civilians.
Hamas or Hamas-affiliated units or forces (like the Sahm Unit) executing or engaging in a clash with armed gangs/clans/militias over looting of aid and theft. In some of these incidents the latter were accused of collaborating with Israel.
The IDF striking civilians and either refuting the claim or claiming that the latter were associated with Hamas.
Over the course of 21 months, the IDF has claimed to have killed Hamas members on numerous occasions (whether aid-related or not), and there have been several news reports stating that civilians were also brutally targeted in such instances.
Apart from what is shown in the graphic above, there were incidents where the IDF claims to have fired 'warning shots,' but people were killed.
2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza face acute food insecurity
On July 23, 2025, a day after the head of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City announced that 21 children had died across the Gaza Strip due to malnutrition and starvation, 111 aid organisations and human rights groups warned that mass starvation is spreading in Gaza. Repeated forced displacements through evacuation orders and destruction of local food production mechanisms has crippled the population and economy.
After more than 21 months of relentless bloodshed that has claimed the lives of over 59,000 Palestinians, the people of Gaza are grappling with escalating shortages of food, clean water, medical supplies, and other basic necessities.
A report released by UNOCHA on Wednesday (July 23, 2025), states that with the 2.1-million-strong population of Palestinians in Gaza facing a high level of acute food insecurity, one million (10 lakh) or half of them are facing 'emergency levels of food insecurity. And over 470,000 (4.7 lakh) people are facing 'catastrophic' levels of food insecurity. But in Gaza, Palestinians are not safe even while seeking the aid essential for their survival.