In a tragic scene that reflects an unprecedented humanitarian collapse, Palestinian civilians in Gaza are being shot at as they attempt to reach food aid trucks amid worsening famine and a total blockade.
On Tuesday, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that “civilians in Gaza continue to be fired upon as they approach aid warehouses and trucks.” He noted that the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had warned that “the last lifelines keeping people alive in Gaza are rapidly collapsing.”
While Dujarric did not specify who was firing the shots, earlier statements from Gaza’s Government Media Office indicated that Israeli occupation forces have killed around 995 Palestinians and wounded over 6,000 since late May during attacks on civilians queueing for food.
In just the past 24 hours, more than 15 Palestinians, including 4 children, have died from hunger, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. This brings the total number of deaths due to famine and malnutrition since October 2023 to 101, including 80 children.
Gaza has now endured over 140 days of a complete blockade on all border crossings, meaning a total deprivation of food, medicine, and clean water.
Under these dire conditions, Gaza’s Government Media Office has described the situation as “on the brink of mass death,” accusing Israel of deliberately obstructing aid and distributing it outside of UN oversight. This has been the case since 27 May, when Israel and the United States implemented a restricted aid plan that worsened the crisis and gave cover to violence against civilians.
Targeting civilians as they try to access food is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks on those not taking part in hostilities and require occupying powers to ensure the regular supply of food and medicine. Yet the Israeli occupation not only denies Palestinians food but also shoots the hungry dead at checkpoints and aid warehouses.
As the world fails to halt this disaster, or even guarantee the safe distribution of food, Palestinians in Gaza remain trapped between starvation and bullets, in one of the darkest and deadliest chapters of modern human history.
