'It is killing people': Why is the U.S.-backed Gaza aid operation being slammed?

A U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid initiative in Gaza is drawing fierce international condemnation, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning it is "killing people," medical non-profit Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denouncing it as "slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid," and a UN official calling it "a death trap."

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been accused of "degrading Palestinians by design" — forcing them to risk death for basic supplies — amid reports of Israeli forces firing on desperate crowds. Israel said its military never targets civilians.

According to MSF, more than 500 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip while seeking food in recent weeks.

Traditionally, the UN and its partners distribute aid at the community level in Gaza, unlike the method employed by the GHF, which announced one month ago that it would use only four distribution points for the entire Strip — all located in militarized zones.

The GHF is operated by U.S. security contractors and has been approved by the Israeli government.

A 'death trap' that is 'killing people'

Guterres said on Friday that the GHF operation in Gaza is "inherently unsafe," giving a blunt assessment: "It is killing people."

Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.

"Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people," Guterres told reporters.

Guterres said UN-led humanitarian efforts are being "strangled," aid workers themselves are starving and Israel – as the occupying power – is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave.

"People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence," Guterres told reporters. "It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza."

Earlier this week, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), denounced the GHF as a "death trap," days after he likened the situation to a dystopian "Hunger Games."

"The newly created, so-called mechanism is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people. It is a death trap costing more lives than it saves," said the UNRWA head.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has repeatedly reported on deaths occurring as Palestinians rushed to the new hubs for food. Locals said they came under gunfire while attempting to get food at the non-UN sites.

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid from both the UN and GHF operations. A senior UN official said last Sunday that the majority of those people were trying to reach GHF sites.

Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel's Foreign Ministry said Israel's military never targets civilians and accused the UN of "aligning itself with Hamas." 

A GHF spokesperson said there have been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites. There were also published reports on Friday that the GHF accused the UN of disseminating disinformation about its operations.

Dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Israeli military operations in Gaza have resulted in 56,412 deaths and 133,054 injuries, since the outbreak of the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza health authorities on Saturday.

In a report issued on Friday, the UNRWA highlighted the severe challenges facing Gaza's healthcare system, with critical shortages in medical resources.

It said, 49 percent of essential medical supplies are now out of stock and 21 percent of remaining supplies are expected to run out within less than two months.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Amjad al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network, said "The humanitarian response is falling short of needs. We are calling for urgent facilitation of aid access and international protection for civilians, especially women and children."

He urged the international community to prioritize a ceasefire and reopen border crossings to deliver food, medicine, and fuel.

"Hunger does not wait. Diseases do not wait. And children do not understand politics," he said.

(With input from agencies)