At least 31 Palestinian civilians were killed and dozens more injured after Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on crowds of hungry people gathered at food distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to Gaza health officials. The deadly incidents occurred in Rafah and near the Netzarim Corridor, with 30 fatalities reported in Rafah alone.
The Gaza Government Media Office condemned the shootings, describing the aid points as “mass-death traps” rather than humanitarian relief zones. In a statement, the office accused Israel of deliberately using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war to lure starving civilians into exposed zones monitored by the Israeli military. The statement also blamed the United States for financially and politically supporting these operations, holding both governments responsible for the rising civilian death toll.
According to local authorities, the latest deaths bring the number of civilians killed at GHF aid sites to at least 39 in less than a week, with over 220 people wounded in the same period.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights group in the United States, strongly condemned the violence. CAIR criticized the U.S.-backed aid distribution efforts and called for the Biden administration to end the program, urging that humanitarian aid be returned to international organizations such as UNRWA.
The United Nations has issued an urgent warning, declaring Gaza the “hungriest place on earth” and warning that its entire population faces the risk of famine. UN officials say their aid operations are being obstructed at unprecedented levels.
Meanwhile, several humanitarian agencies have accused the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—reportedly supported by Israel and the U.S.—of facilitating Israel’s military objectives under the guise of aid distribution.
