US-Backed GHF Suspends Gaza Aid for Second Day After Israeli Forces Kill Over 100 Aid Seekers

Gaza (Quds News Network)- The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) will suspend aid distribution in the war-torn Strip for a second consecutive day, following a full-day closure on Wednesday. The suspension comes amid widespread condemnation after Israeli forces shot and killed at least 102 starving civilians near GHF distribution sites.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the GHF said its “distribution sites will not open as early as” Thursday morning and that it would “share information on opening times as soon as work is complete”.

On Wednesday, the group also said a temporary suspension was necessary to allow for “renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work”.

Israel’s military said that approach roads to the aid distribution centres will be “considered combat zones” on Wednesday, and warned that people in Gaza should heed the GHF announcement to stay away.

The temporary suspension of aid comes as at least 102 starving aid seekers waiting for food aid near GHF distribution centres have been killed by Israeli forces since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The latest attack occurred early Tuesday morning, when Israeli fire killed 27 aid seekers and injured 90 others as they waited for food distribution in the al-Alam area of Rafah.

Drone footage, eyewitness videos, and testimonies from medical teams in Rafah all confirmed that Israeli forces opened fire directly and intensively on civilians, with many of the fatalities receiving gunshot wounds to their head or chest.

The Israeli military has admitted it shot at aid seekers on Tuesday, but claimed that they opened fire when “suspects” deviated from a stipulated route as a crowd of Palestinians was making its way to the GHF distribution site in Gaza.

On March 2, Israel announced the closure of Gaza’s main crossings, cutting off food, medical and humanitarian supplies, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians, according to reports by human rights organisations who have accused it of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinains.

An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report last month warned that almost a quarter of the civilian population would face catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase Five) in the coming months.

After more than 80 days of total blockade, starvation, and growing international outrage, limited aid has allegedly been distributed since last week by the GHF, a scandal-plagued organization backed by the US and Israel, created to bypass the UN’s established aid delivery infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

Most humanitarian organisations, including the UN, have distanced themselves from GHF, arguing that the group violates humanitarian principles by restricting aid to south and central Gaza, requiring Palestinians to walk long distances to collect aid, and only providing limited aid, among other critiques.

The UN confirmed that Israel is still blocking food from reaching starving Palestinians with only a few trucks of aid having reached Gaza.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that “weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.”

“Today’s events have shown once again that this new system of aid delivery is dehumanising, dangerous and severely ineffective,” Claire Manera, MSF’s emergency coordinator, said in a statement on Sunday.

“It has resulted in deaths and injuries of civilians that could have been prevented. Humanitarian aid must be provided only by humanitarian organisations who have the competence and determination to do it safely and effectively,” she added.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also demanded an independent inquiry into the killings and for “perpetrators to be held accountable”.

The United Kingdom on Wednesday called for an “immediate and independent investigation” into the deadly incidents. UK Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said the deaths were “deeply disturbing”, and called Israel’s new aid delivery measures “inhumane”.

Moreover, two senior officials of the foundation resigned days before the start of its operations. Jake Wood, who resigned as executive director, said in a statement that the group’s plans could not be consistent with the “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.” The chief operating officer, David Burke, also resigned, according to The Washington Post.

On May 30, the Boston Consulting Group, which had been part of the planning and implementation of the foundation, withdrew its team and terminated its association with GHF.