“After 2 years of heavy Israeli Forces bombardment with more than 67,000 people reported killed, the infamous death trap of the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” and finally the silent killing of famine, civilians are now confronted with shocking arbitrary summary killings by Hamas members. The ceasefire should bring respite and hope not more killings. No one should escape justice and accountability.” — UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini

UNRWA

@UNRWA

“After 2 years of heavy Israeli Forces bombardment with more than 67,000 people reported killed, the infamous death trap of the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” and finally the silent killing of #famine, civilians are now confronted with shocking arbitrary summary killings by Hamas members. The #ceasefire should bring respite and hope not more killings. No one should escape justice and accountability.” — UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini   https://x.com/UNRWA/status/1978470081177727302

 

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The Hill: In Gaza, Israel has turned food aid into a death trap

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 https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5480646-aid-turned-death-trap-gaza/

by Hani Almadhoun, opinion contributor - 09/02/25 11:30 AM ET 

A Palestinian boy sits on the ground as he waits near a food distribution kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

 

My cousin Sameeh Mohamad Hilmi Almadhoun was just 18 when an Israeli soldier allegedly killed him at an aid site in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. He was a young man searching for food, a simple act that became his death sentence.

The truth is far more devastating than a simple headline: Israel has turned aid in Gaza into a lure for death.

Sameeh had already lost nearly everything. An Israeli strike in northern Gaza killed his parents and three siblings, some of whom had special needs. Driven by hunger, he left the north in search of a meal — without his surviving family knowing he had even gone. 

He walked more than six miles to reach one of the four aid sites run by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation near Khan Younis and chose to wait overnight so he could be first in line in the morning. 

That decision became his death sentence. Sameeh was one of more than 1,400 Palestinians killed at aid sites across Gaza. 

We discovered his death the way too many Palestinian families do: through a grainy photo of an unidentified body circulating on Telegram. My sister, Chef Samah — who runs a soup kitchen on the Gaza pier, now a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians — recognized him and quickly reached out to our mother. 

That recognition was a form of grief too heavy to bear. Sameeh’s grandmother, who suffers from chronic chest pain, has already buried 10 of her children and grandchildren, all killed by the Israeli military in northern Gaza during this ongoing nightmare... READ MORE  https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5480646-aid-turned-death-trap-gaza/

States must stop Israel before all journalists in Gaza are silenced: UN experts

 

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/states-must-stop-israel-all-journalists-gaza-are-silenced-un-experts

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04 September 2025

Related

Press releases

UN experts alarmed by reports of enforced disappearances at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites

GENEVA – UN experts* are outraged by the killing of six more Palestinian journalists — including two women — in multiple Israeli strikes in Gaza over the past 10 days.

Mariam Abu Daqqa, a visual journalist who freelanced for the Associated Press was among those killed in two Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza on 25 August, as were Al Jazeera Journalist Mohammed Salama, freelance journalist Moaz Abu Taha, Reuters photojournalist Hussam al-Masri, and Ahmed Abu Aziz who worked for several media outlets including the Middle East Eye.

Islam Abed, a correspondent from Al-Quds Today TV, was killed in a strike on a residential apartment in Gaza city on 31 August. Her husband and child were also reportedly killed in that strike.

At least 248 journalists have now been killed in Gaza, more than in any other conflict in modern times.

“On the one hand, Israel continues to deny access to any international media and on the other, it kills with impunity local journalists who are the world’s only professional lens into the agony of genocide and famine unfolding in Gaza,” the experts said.

“Even as the journalists starve, lose family members, sleep in tents and get targeted by the Israeli military like the rest of Gaza’s population, they have continued to courageously bear witness to atrocities committed by the Israeli military,” they said.

The killings come as Israel escalates its military takeover of Gaza city and barely two weeks after six journalists, including Gaza’s chief Al Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif, were deliberately targeted and killed in a strike near Al Shifa Hospital.

“We demand independent criminal investigations into the killings and attacks on journalists in Gaza and across the Palestinian territory and full reparation and justice for their families and an end to the unprecedented impunity enjoyed by Israel,” the experts said.

“We also demand that Israel grant full and free access to international media. Their presence will give a measure of safety to local journalists and will keep the reports flowing into the world,” said the experts.

“We urge the international community – member states as well as the key organs of the United Nations to act without delay before Israel shuts down the last voices in Gaza.”

The experts are in contact with the Government of Israel on this matter.

 

*The experts:

• Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
• Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/.

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: hrc-sr-freedex@un.org.

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org).

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.

Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Israel and Lebanon

See all Media coverage of the situation

Israel threatens to ban major aid organizations as starvation deepens: 100 organizations call for an end to Israel’s weaponization of aid 14 Aug 2025 Global

14 Aug 2025 Global  

Israel threatens to ban major aid organizations as starvation deepens 100 organizations call for an end to Israel’s weaponization of aid

 

14 August 2025 - Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March.

 

Instead of clearing the growing backlog of goods, Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in lifesaving goods, citing that these organizations are “not authorised to deliver aid.” In July alone, over 60 requests were denied under this justification.

 

This obstruction has left millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter items stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are being starved.

 

“Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away,” said Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera.

 

Many of the NGOs now told they are not “authorised” to deliver aid have worked in Gaza for decades, are trusted by communities and experienced in delivering aid safely. Their exclusion has left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses, and aid workers themselves going to work hungry.

 

The obstruction is tied to new INGO registration rules introduced in March. Under these new rules, registration can be denied on the basis of vague and politicised criteria, such as alleged “delegitimisation” of the state of Israel. INGOs warned the process was designed to control independent organisations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting. This new bureaucratic obstruction is inconsistent with established international law as it entrenches Israel’s control and annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory.

 

Unless INGOs submit to the full registration requirements, including the mandatory submission of details of private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists and other sensitive information about personnel for so-called “security” vetting to Israeli authorities, many could be forced to halt operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and remove all international staff within 60 days. Some organisations have even been issued a seven-day ultimatum to provide Palestinian staff lists.

 

NGOs have made clear that sharing such data is unlawful (including under relevant data protection laws), unsafe, and incompatible with humanitarian principles. In the deadliest context for aid workers worldwide, where 98 percent of those humanitarians killed were Palestinian, NGOs have no guarantees that handing over such information would not put staff at further risk, or be used to advance the government of Israel's stated military and political aims.

 

Today, INGOs’ fears have proven true: the registration system is now being used to further block aid and deny food and medicine in the midst of the worst-case scenario of famine.

 

“Since the full siege was imposed on 2 March, CARE has not been able to deliver any of our $1.5 million worth of pre-positioned supplies into Gaza,” said Jolien Veldwijk, Country Director of CARE. “This includes critical shipments of food parcels, medical supplies, hygiene kits, dignity kits, and maternal and infant care items. Our mandate is to save lives, but due to the registration restrictions civilians are being left without the food, medicine, and protection they urgently need.”

 

“Oxfam has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH and hygiene items as well as food,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead. “This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out.”

 

These restrictions are part of a broader strategy that includes the so-called “GHF” scheme – a militarised distribution mechanism promoted as a humanitarian solution. In reality, it is a deadly tool of control, with at least 859 Palestinians killed around “GHF” sites since it began operating. “The militarized food distribution scheme has weaponized starvation and curated suffering. Distributions at GHF sites have resulted in extreme levels of violence and killings, primarily of young Palestinian men, but also of women and children, who have gone to the sites in the hope of receiving food,” according to Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza.

 

Both the “GHF” scheme and the INGO registration process aim to block impartial aid, exclude Palestinian actors, and replace trusted humanitarian organizations with mechanisms that serve political and military objectives. They come as the government of Israel to escalate its military offensive and deepen its occupation in Gaza, making clear these measures are part of a broader strategy to entrench control and erase Palestinian presence.

 

“At this point, everyone knows what the correct, humane answer is, and it's not a floating pier, airdrops or the “GHF.” The answer, to save lives, save humanity and save yourselves from complicity in engineered mass starvation, is to open all the borders, at all hours, to the thousands of trucks, millions of meals and medical supplies, ready and waiting nearby,” said Sean Carroll of Anera.

 

We call on all states and donors to:

 

• Press Israel to end the weaponization of aid, including through bureaucratic obstruction, such as the INGO registration procedures.
• Insist that INGOs are not forced to share sensitive personal information, in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or compromise staff safety or independence as a condition for delivering aid.
• Demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings and conditions for the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid.
   

Editor's Note

 

• The occupied Palestinian territory is the deadliest setting for aid workers worldwide, with Palestinian staff accounting for 98% of aid worker fatalities: 509 out of 517 killings that took place between 2023-2025, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.
• On 6 May, 55 organizations warned that Israel’s new INGO registration measures are a grave threat to humanitarian operations and international law.
• On 1 July, 200+ organizations called for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme, including the so-called “GHF” in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies.
• On 23 July, 100+ organizations warned that, as mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.
• On 29 July, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) wrote that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.
• Israel has consistently denied restricting the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, including throughout the period of July 2025, when most of the denials discussed in this statement were issued.
• On 31 July, OHCHR wrote that since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of the “GHF” sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys. Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli forces.
• On 4 August, a Palestinian nurse in Gaza was killed when an airdrop struck him.
• On 5 August, it was reported that Israeli authorities are planning for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip.
• On 6 August, UN agencies and NGOs warned that without immediate action most international NGO partners could be de-registered by Israel in coming weeks.
• On 6 August, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) concluded that Israel’s information requests under the INGO registration process risk violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The DPA advised that INGOs should not comply with these requests, and that the only solution is for Israel to amend its requirements and for the relevant ministries to issue a formal protest.
• On 7 August, MSF released a report stating food distributions in Gaza run by the so-called "GHF" are sites of “orchestrated killing and dehumanization” that must be shut down."
• On 10 August, Save the Children reported the deaths of 100 children due to starvation in Gaza since October 2023.
• On 12 August, a group of UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights published a letter to the Israeli government, stating deep concern that the INGO registration measures “weaken the ability of INGOs to operate independently and impartially and to carry out their humanitarian and human rights work without interference or fear of reprisal” and that “that the obligation to report on INGO personnel, in the context of occupation, armed conflict and serious violations of international law, could raise serious protection and reprisal concerns.” 

 

Signatories:

 https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/2025/israel-threatens-ban-major-aid-organizations-starvation

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United Nations says families, a generation being ‘wiped out’ by Israel’s war on Gaza- Malnutrition from Israeli-induced starvation, & Israeli strikes kill dozens of Palestinians as journalists are deliberately targeted.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says children in Gaza are dying from starvation and bombardments [File: Khamis Al-Rifi/Reuters]

 11 Aug 2025

Five more Palestinians, including a child, have died of malnutrition as a result of Israel’s punishing blockade of Gaza in the past 24 hour reporting period, the Health Ministry has said, as people in the enclave and many beyond its besieged borders mourned several journalists assassinated by Israel.

The ministry on Monday said most of these victims died in the past three weeks, as Israel-imposed starvation engulfs the entire population, with the total number of severe hunger deaths now at 222, including 101 children.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency later reported the death from malnutrition of an additional child, five-year-old Mohammed Zakaria Khader, bringing the overall death toll in the past 24 hours to six.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said “children in Gaza are dying from starvation and bombardments”.

“Entire families, neighbourhoods, and a generation are being wiped out,” the UN agency wrote in a post on social media. “Inaction and silence are complicity. It’s time for statements to turn into action and for an immediate ceasefire.”

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that hunger and malnutrition levels in Gaza are the highest ever recorded, with more than one-third of the population going without food for days at a time and 500,000 people on the brink of famine.

The agency said Gaza must be “flooded” with large-scale food assistance to avert further catastrophe.

At least 46 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids across Gaza since dawn on Monday, including six aid seekers, medical sources have told Al Jazeera.

In one of the latest attacks, the al-Aqsa Hospital reported the killing of four Palestinians by Israeli forces in the south and east of Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said three civilians were killed and others were injured in an Israeli attack on the Zeitoun neighbourhood of southern Gaza City.

Meanwhile, on a daily basis, Israeli forces and US contractors are continuing to kill Palestinians desperately seeking aid at distribution points run by the controversial United States and Israeli-backed GHF.

Among those killed on Sunday was Ismail Qandil’s son. Speaking at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Qandil told Al Jazeera that his son was unarmed and was looking for food when he was killed.

“He had no bullets, no weapon to shoot with. What did we do? What did we do for this to happen to us? Enough with the hunger and genocide,” he said.

“We are in a famine. We are being slaughtered. We can’t carry on. We send our sons to bring food, and they kill them. We are not members of the resistance, and we are not members of movements or anything. We are being destroyed.”

Israeli strikes kill Palestinian journalists

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,499 people and wounded 153,575 since October 7, 2023. The toll includes at least 270 journalists and media workers.... READ MORE https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/11/un-says-families-a-generation-being-wiped-out-by-israels-war-on-gaza

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