'A Death Trap, Not Aid': MSF Slams Israeli-US Food Distribution in Gaza
Gaza, June 2025 — Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has condemned the Israeli-US food distribution scheme in Gaza, calling it a 'death trap masquerading as aid' that has resulted in more than 500 deaths and thousands of injuries. The group is urging an immediate end to the current system and a return to UN-led humanitarian efforts.
The scheme, operated under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), forces thousands of starving Palestinians to travel long distances to heavily militarized food drop zones, where many are injured or killed trying to access supplies.
'This is not aid. It's a system designed to humiliate and endanger,' said Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF's emergency coordinator in Gaza. 'If people arrive early, they get shot. If they arrive late, they get shot. If they try to reach food in overflow crowds, they get shot.'
MSF medical teams report a sharp spike in gunshot wound cases. In Deir Al-Balah alone, such cases rose by 190% in early June. The clinic in Al-Mawasi, which is unequipped for trauma care, has received over 400 wounded from distribution sites since June 7.
Seventeen-year-old Ashraf was among the victims. 'He just wanted to bring food for his sister,' his mother said. 'He called me crying—he'd been shot.'
Food prices are now out of reach for most residents of Gaza. A bag of lentils costs 30 to 40 shekels (€6–10), far beyond what many can afford. With unemployment near total, people are risking their lives for a handful of food.
'This so-called aid system has become a mechanism of control and death,' said MSF. 'It must be dismantled immediately. Aid must be coordinated by neutral bodies and delivered with dignity, not used as a weapon of war.'
MSF is calling for a full lifting of the siege on Gaza and the restoration of a principled aid distribution system under the United Nations. They also reiterated the urgent need for a sustained ceasefire to prevent further loss of life.
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