Gaza, MINA – A coalition of 169 humanitarian and human rights organizations, including prominent groups like Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Save the Children, has called for the immediate dismantling of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Palestine Information Center reported.
The organizations have accused the US- and Israel-backed aid distribution system of contributing to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians seeking food in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, the NGOs claimed that over 500 Palestinians had been killed and nearly 4,000 injured within a span of less than four weeks at or near GHF distribution points. The aid groups allege that Israeli forces and allied mercenaries have “routinely” opened fire on desperate civilians trying to access food supplies.
The NGOs criticized the GHF for forcing civilians, many of them starving and physically weak to cross dangerous, militarized zones to reach chaotic aid sites, describing them as “death traps” in active conflict areas.
Also Read: Fourteen Israeli Ministers Urge Netanyahu to Annex Occupied West Bank Immediately
“These areas have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law,” the statement read.
The coalition urged a return to the United Nations-led aid mechanism that operated prior to Israel’s blockade on international humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The statement labeled the GHF initiative as a “deadly Israeli distribution scheme.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Government Media Office (GMO) reported that the number of civilians killed near US-backed distribution centers has risen to 580, with 4,200 injured and 39 still missing. The GMO accused GHF of deliberately endangering civilians and overseeing what it described as a systematic campaign of lethal violence against the hungry population. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Also Read: 15 Civilians Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Central Gaza
Mina Indonesia
Mina Arabic
Mina Sport