HRW: Gaza Aid Distribution System Turned Into 'Regular Bloodbaths'
HRW described the Israeli- and US-backed system for distributing aid in Gaza as a deeply flawed military mechanism that is actively endangering civilians rather than helping them.
According to the report, the worsening famine in Gaza is entirely man-made and being used deliberately by Israeli forces as a weapon of war.
'The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is not an unfortunate byproduct of conflict, but the result of a calculated policy to starve civilians,' HRW stated.
It emphasized that Israel's ongoing prevention of aid access constitutes both genocide and a crime against humanity.
The report added that Israeli forces have turned food distribution points into zones of death, where desperate civilians, particularly children, widows, and the sick, are routinely targeted.
Aid convoys and medical staff attempting to distribute food or deliver supplies to UN warehouses are also reportedly coming under fire, exacerbating chaos and hunger.
In a joint call for action, HRW demanded that Israel immediately lift all unlawful restrictions on aid and urged both Israel and the United States to suspend the current aid distribution system, which has proven both ineffective and deadly.
Moreover, it called on the international community to apply urgent pressure to open all crossings and facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies by land, the only method deemed 'effective, safe, and fast' by UN agencies.
Dr. Bassam Zakout, Director of the Medical Relief Society in Gaza, described the situation as beyond catastrophic, citing severe shortages in food, medical supplies, and infant formula.
Zakout reported a sharp rise in malnutrition among children and teens, with many mothers forced to replace milk with water for their babies, noting that hospitals, overwhelmed and under-resourced, are receiving daily casualties from attacks near aid centers, underscoring the deadly nature of the current system.
Zakout warned that time is rapidly running out for any effective humanitarian response, and that Gaza is already facing a real threat of mass starvation.
According to the World Food Program, one in every three people in Gaza now goes entire days without food, while 75% of the population faces emergency levels of hunger.
The UN's global food security monitor (IPC) confirmed that the worst-case famine scenario is already unfolding, warning that air-dropped aid is wholly inadequate to stop the collapse.
Since March 2, Israel has shut all border crossings, abandoning its obligations under the January 18 ceasefire agreement, which promised the daily entry of 600 aid trucks and 50 fuel tankers.
As a result, the enclave has run out of stored food, medicine, dairy products, vegetables, meat, and hygiene supplies, leaving the population of 2.3 million on the brink of starvation.
The report concluded with an urgent appeal: open the crossings, end the blockade, and allow UN agencies to operate freely before Gaza is lost to a preventable humanitarian catastrophe.
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