A group of more than 170 aid organizations on Tuesday called for an end to a US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution system in Gaza amid repeated reports of people being killed while seeking rations.
According to Hamas-linked authorities in Gaza, more than 500 people have been killed in mass shootings near aid distribution centers or transport routes guarded by Israeli forces since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operating in late May.
The NGOs urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed in the war-torn territory until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza following a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
“Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families,” the aid organizations said in a statement. The groups included Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Amnesty International.
They urged action to “revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies.”
In a response, the GHF told Reuters it had delivered more than 52 million meals in five weeks and said other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted.”
The GHF added, “Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza.”
The statement was published as the IDF said it had taken new steps to limit civilian casualties at aid distribution sites. It also comes as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the 20-month war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House next week to discuss the war, in addition to other topics.
The GHF has been tasked with distributing aid in the Palestinian territory since late May, following mounting international condemnation and warnings of imminent famine.
GHF operations have since been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations in the territory, where the Israeli military is seeking to destroy Hamas.
“Under the Israeli government’s new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race to reach fenced, militarized distribution sites,” the NGOs’ statement read.
Aid distribution in Gaza was traditionally coordinated through various NGOs and United Nations agencies, notably the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which had 13,000 staff in the coastal enclave before the war. Israel has accused UNRWA of collaborating with Hamas and taken steps to restrict its activity.
Israel said it tasked GHF with distribution in Gaza to keep Hamas from controlling the flow of aid. The IDF acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians have been harmed at the aid distribution sites, saying that troops had been issued new instructions following what it called “lessons learned.”
According to the military, troops on the ground have only used live gunfire when a threat was posed to them, including when dozens of suspects approached forces outside of the designated routes to the aid sites operated by the GHF, or outside operating hours.
On Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry accused Hamas of shooting at civilians and publishing false death tolls. It posted recordings to social media that, it said, show Gazans describing how the terror group “fires at civilians at these humanitarian sites, spreads false claims blaming the IDF, inflates casualty numbers, and circulates fake footage — all to disrupt aid efforts and keep the people of Gaza away from much-needed aid.”
At a press conference in Vilnius on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel hoped to work with the European Union to improve aid distribution.
“We are open… we don’t want Hamas to use the humanitarian aid as an economic asset…but we want it directly to go to the people of Gaza,” he said.