Category World News

According to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health, at least 583 Palestinians have died and 4, 186 have been injured while waiting for food at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)-run aid distribution centers since May 27.

As famine looms over the besieged enclave, the killings continue every day. International organizations have for weeks been warning Gaza’s 2.1 million residents that have a severe food shortage, lack clean water, and irregular and dangerous aid deliveries.

More than 100 people were killed by Israeli forces during the GHF’s operation’s first eight days.

Hani Mahmoud, a journalist for Al Jazeera from Gaza City, claimed that Israel is still putting sever restrictions on the movement of supplies between the Gaza Strip and the GHF as the only food source there is.

According to Mahmoud, “many people here are trying to stay away from the GHF’s centers because of the risk associated with going there because there are deliberate and ongoing shootings of aid seekers there.” Staying away, however, is not a solution because it means that children will go to bed hungry if there are no food packages.

Where are the locations where donations are distributed?

The GHF, which is run by armed private security contractors employed by a US company, has only four “mega-sites”: three in the south and one in central Gaza, none of which are located in the north, where the conditions are most severe. The previous United Nations-led distribution network operated about 400 sites across the Strip.

GHF centers have irregular opening times, some of which are only for an hour. A Facebook page announced its opening in one instance, but eight minutes later it revealed supplies had run out.

The centers’ first-come, first-served nature frequently causes chaos as enraged crowds compete for scarce resources.

How are these aid distribution websites accessible?

It’s dangerous to get to these centers. Palestinians sometimes have to carry heavy food back to their families through densely populated combat zones, navigate biometric checkpoints, and cross long distances to combat sites.

The elderly, injured, and disabled people who are the least likely to travel are also excluded from the system’s intended beneficiaries, which is in effect the elderly.

What are the boxes made of?

The aid boxes themselves hardly ever meet one’s basic needs. Israel has a daily calorie intake of 1,600 while the World Food Programme recommends 2,100, or 1,600.

GHF packages contain no clean water, medicine, blankets, or fuel, and only offer slightly more calories (roughly 1, 750 calories). Receiving a box is a rare, unexpected occurrence for many rather than relief.

According to Al Jazeera correspondent Hind al-Khoudary, the rations don’t help families for long.

A typical GHF box, according to her description, contains 4 kg (8.8 kg) of flour, two cans of fava beans, two packs of tea bags, and a few biscuits. Lentils and small amounts of soup mix are included in some packages, but the quantity is sparse.

Are aid workers being shot on purpose?

Unnamed Israeli soldiers were cited by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper as saying that troops were instructed to fire at Palestinians’ crowds and use unnecessary lethal force against those who appeared to be unaffected.

One soldier told Haaretz, “We threw grenades and fired machineguns from tanks.” A group of civilians were hit while moving under the cover of fog once, according to one incident.

Another soldier claimed that in the area of Gaza where the soldier is stationed, “one to five people were killed every day.”

That soldier said, “It’s a killing field.”

The GHF is what?

About 500 trucks bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza each day before the war started on October 7, 2023. When Israel began to invade the enclave, that changed. During a nearly three-month supply-blockade, Israel temporarily stopped aid deliveries after a day-long decline of fewer than 80 trucks.

A new delivery method, distinct from the traditional UN framework, was introduced on May 27 when the GHF took over the aid operations as a private contractor.

The New York Times newspaper called the organization, which was established this year in the US, “an Israeli brainchild” as part of Israel’s long-term plan for Gaza’s future.

The GHF hasn’t made its funding sources known to the general public. Although the details are still ambiguous, it claimed to have secured $100 million in commitments. Recently, the US Department of State made a $30 million pledge to support.

How are the children of Gaza affected?

UNICEF has issued an “alarming rate” warning that children are still receiving little nutrition in Gaza.

At least 5, 119 children between the ages of six months and five years old were admitted to hospitals for acute malnutrition in May alone, a nearly 50% increase over the previous month’s April intake and a 15% increase over the February intake, which was facilitated by a temporary ceasefire.

16, 736 children, or an average of 112 per day, have been admitted for treatment since the start of the year until the end of May, according to Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Everyone of these situations can be avoided. They are being prevented from receiving the food, water, and nutrition they desperately need. He continued, “These are human-made choices that are killing lives.”

Children were among the more than half of the 19 documented fatalities involving the distribution of food aid, which highlights the fragility of Gaza’s youngest residents.

How does Israel threaten Gaza’s population with starvation?

Israel’s aid embargo has caused hunger for one in five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The colossal scale of hunger that grips Gaza is highlighted by the chaos at the distribution points for aid.

1.95 million people in the enclave are experiencing acute food shortages, according to the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report.

Northern Gaza is one of the governorates where hunger is more severe.

The IPC claimed that Israel’s continued blockade “would likely lead to further mass displacement within and across governorates” because resources that are crucial to people’s survival would be lacking.

At least 66 children have died from starvation in Gaza as a result of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians since the conflict broke out in October 2023, making children the most vulnerable. Child malnutrition is rising at an “alarming rate,” according to the UN.

Police are looking into Irish rapper Kneecap and other musicians who sang pro-Palestinian songs at Glastonbury. The UK government and festival organizers have harshly criticized the ‘death to the IDF’ chant by punk duo Bob Vylan.

Few readers anticipated that the world they live in would be the setting for scenes from The Hunger Games books when they first appeared in print in the late 2000s. However, they continue to do so every day in Gaza.

Since the beginning of March, Israel has been firmly encumbered by our country. The entire strip is covered in starvation. The majority of families only consume one meal per day. Some people spend days without eating at all.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States and Israel, began limiting aid deliveries to the area in late May. Palestinians have since been subjected to a deadly game in an effort to get some food.

Some of my neighbors and friends have dared to visit a distribution point for GHF aid, but none of my family members have dared. They only have horror stories to tell me.

We initially assumed there would be tents, queues, and order when we learned about the Israeli-named “Netzarim Corridor.” However, those who took the chance found only chaos and death there.

Near Salah al-Din Street, in a dangerous area known as the “death corridor,” locals refer to it as the “death corridor.” It is guarded by foreign military contractors and is surrounded by sand. Israeli soldiers and tanks are stationed nearby.

No precise timetable for the aid deliveries is available. The GHF occasionally opens the gates at 4 a.m. and 4 a.m. The night before sunset, pilgrims wait.

The crowd erupts when the gates finally open. No staff, signs, or queues are present. only fear, dust, and noise.

Over the top, drones circling resemble vultures. Then, a loudspeaker’s voice says, “Four minutes! Do what you can”!

There aren’t enough food boxes in the middle of the sand, but there are some. They never suffice. People shoving and climbing over each other as they approach the pile. They push one another. Come out with knives. Fighting breaks out in the air. Children scream. Men are falling. Through the sand, women crawl. Few people have the ability to grab and hold onto a box, which is fortunate. Then the gunshots begin. The sandy square turns into a battlefield for murder.

People flee their homes. Many are struck. Some people leave with injuries. Friends, family, or even strangers carry strangers. Other animals bleed into the sand alone.

More than 500 Palestinians have died since the end of May when Israeli soldiers have opened fire on gathered aid workers. More than 4, 000 people have been hurt.

One of them was Subhi, the son of my friend Nour. He felt compelled to risk his life to seek aid because the family had no food left. He made his way to Netzarim’s aid station on June 14 morning. He never returned.

Nour described the hours that were spent waiting by the door. There were no hours. No action. No calls made. The internet was unavailable. The silence was intolerable. Then, unapologetically, they audible a distant shooting ring. They were notified that something was wrong but couldn’t be reached for him right away.

His body was later discovered by paramedics. He was killed trying to bring his children’s food bag home.

Another friend, Hala, shared the story of Khamis, her sister’s brother-in-law, who was another victim of the GHF death trap. He carried the weight of the entire household on his back despite having only been married for two years and not having any children. After his brother’s death earlier in the war, he had begun looking after his own children.

Khamis’ friends managed to persuade him to travel with them to try to get some aid when their food ran out. When someone yelled, “They’ve opened the gates! ” as they were waiting near the aid hub on June 24!

Khamis stepped out of their hiding place to observe him briefly. His shoulder was pierced by an Israeli quadcopter, and his heart was lodged in his, killing him. He left behind hungry nieces and nephews and a grieving widow.

There are uncountable other stories that will never be made public, all of which are equally painful and heartbreaking.

These incidents have been referred to as “aid massacres,” according to the Gaza-based ministry of health. They are referred to as war crimes by legal experts. They are, in fact, “hunger games.”

People are affected by hunger. It tests the soul as well, not just weakening the body. It causes the most fundamental instincts to be unleashed, undermining trust and mutual respect.

The occupier is aware of this and uses it to bolster its position.

UNRWA, the United Nations organization for Palestinian refugees, was viciously attacked and banned by it.

Organization and fairness were UNRWA’s aid distribution system as examples. Through a thorough, honest process, each family that had an ID card could receive aid from the agency. The most vulnerable people, such as widows, orphans, elderly people, and disabled people, received priority, ensuring that those who needed it most first, were first.

Because of its system’s emphasis on order, dignity, and respect for human life, it reduced the chance of deadly stampedes and violent clashes.

None of that is what the occupier wants.

In order to provide aid in the form of “hunger games,” it was created.

These are plotted traps that create chaos and disorder, causing division between Palestinians and breaking up the social order and solidarity that sustains Palestinian unity.

Another Israeli lie that was widely believed was that Israel and the GHF denied that there were any large-scale killings taking place at the aid centers for a month. Israeli media reports that Israeli soldiers were instructed to fire at Palestinian aid distribution centers by the Israeli government.

Will the world now accept our ideas? Will it take any action?

Not fiction, what is happening in Gaza. It’s not a horror film, either. Both the genocide they are involved in and the “hunger games” are real. The world’s willingness to create such a dystopia is damning evidence of its own humanity losing.