UN says 859 have died near GHF sites since May while hospitals report growing number of hunger-related deaths
UN says 859 have died near GHF sites since May while hospitals report growing number of hunger-related deaths
Hospitals in Gaza say Israeli fire killed more than a dozen people on Saturday, eight of them while trying to get food, as malnutrition-related deaths continue to rise in the territory.
The bloodshed comes a day after Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, visited an aid distribution site run by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Global outrage has grown over Israel’s restrictions on aid and the deadly unrest surrounding the GHF sites, with daily reports of shootings at all four locations since the group took over aid distribution at the end of May. The UN says 859 Palestinians have been killed during that time in the vicinity of these sites, and more than 500 have been killed along the routes of food convoys.
Health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday, including three who were in the area around a distribution site. Nasser hospital also said Israeli forces killed five Palestinians who were among crowds awaiting aid in the south.
In a statement to the Associated Press, GHF said “nothing (happened) at or near our sites”. Both the GHF and the Israeli army have said they only shoot if there is a threat, or fire warning shots to disperse crowds.
