• Says People risk being killed while trying to get food
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The United Nations has expressed concerns over the developments in Gaza, saying residents are now torn between starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food.
The international organization attributed the developments to what it described as “Israel’s militarized humanitarian assistance” which has resulted in “weaponization of food” in Gaza.
While condemning the approach, the UN urged Israel’s military to “stop shooting at people trying to get food”.
“Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,” the UN human rights office said in written notes provided before a briefing on Tuesday.
“Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food.” the note added.
Painting a chilling picture of what’s happening in Gaza, the UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan described, in the briefing notes, “scenes of chaos around the food distribution points” of the GHF.
He added that “the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities”, since the organisation began operating.
He pointed to reports that “over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organisations”.
“At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents,” he said.
“Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account.” Kheetan added.
He also cautioned that the system “endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza”.
“The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law,” he warned.
The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began food distribution operations in Gaza on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine.
Recall that in the wake of renewed attacks on Gaza by Israel, the UN in May said that “100 percent of the population” of the besieged territory were ” at risk of famine”.
There have been disagreement between the UN backed major aid groups and the GHF — an officially private effort with opaque funding — over the latter’s modus operandi.
The aid groups have refused to cooperate the GHF expressing concerns that the organization was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
According to the UN, there is a need for an immediate action to remedy the situation.“The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food,” Kheetan said, also demanding that Israel “allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza”.
