Charities demand closure of Gaza aid agency backed by US, Israel
The GHF, backed by the US and Israel, has been operating since May to distribute aid but has been fiercely criticized by observers, with over 500 Palestinians killed and more than 4,000 injured at its distribution centers.
Organizations including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International on Tuesday said Palestinians are being forced into 'militarized' zones in order to receive essential supplies.
'Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families,' the groups said in a statement.
'Orphaned children and caregivers are among the dead, with children harmed in over half of the attacks on civilians at these sites.'
The GHF was established after Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza following the breakdown of a US-backed ceasefire with Hamas in March.
Four aid distribution centers were set up, replacing around 400 that were run by international bodies during the ceasefire.
The group of aid agencies and charities said the GHF system 'is not a humanitarian response' to the problems facing Gazans, who have lived in a constant state of displacement and supply shortages since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.
'Amidst severe hunger and famine-like conditions, many families tell us they are now too weak to compete for food rations,' the group added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned the GHF's distribution system as being 'inherently unsafe.'
It came after a report in Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Israeli soldiers were ordered to shoot directly at Palestinian civilians to disperse them from overcrowded GHF aid distribution centers.
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