UN Reports Over 1,000 Gaza Aid-Seekers Killed by Israeli Forces Since May

More than 1,000 Palestinians have died while attempting to access food aid in Gaza since May, according to the United Nations human rights office. The majority of these deaths occurred near sites managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor, the UN said on Tuesday. The figures are based on information from medics, humanitarian, and human rights organizations, with verification ongoing, according to UN rights office spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan.

Local health officials reported that Israeli strikes killed 25 people across Gaza on Tuesday, including at least 12 people in tents for displaced residents in Gaza City's Shati refugee camp. The Israeli military said it was not aware of such a strike. An overnight attack on crowds waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight and wounded at least 118, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Israeli military did not comment on this incident.

The Gaza Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, stated that 80 children and 21 adults have died from starvation since the war began. While these numbers could not be independently verified, UN officials and major aid groups confirm that conditions for starvation exist in Gaza, where over 2 million people face severe food shortages. The World Food Program described the hunger crisis as reaching "new and astonishing levels of desperation," with nearly 100,000 women and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and a third of the population going without food for days.

Aid groups and witnesses allege that Israeli forces frequently fire toward crowds seeking food, though the Israeli military says it only fires warning shots. GHF stated its armed contractors have only fired into the air on a few occasions to prevent stampedes. Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid and blames UN agencies for not distributing food effectively, while GHF rejected the UN's casualty figures as "false and exaggerated."

A joint statement from 28 Western-aligned countries, including the United Kingdom and France, criticized Israel's aid delivery model as "dangerous" and said it deprives Gazans of human dignity. Israel and the United States rejected this criticism, attributing the ongoing conflict to Hamas's refusal to accept ceasefire terms and release hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attack.

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, with over half reported as women and children. The ministry's figures are widely cited by international organizations, though they do not distinguish between civilian and militant casualties.