Everyday, hundreds of desperate Palestinians gather around aid trucks in Gaza, hoping to secure food for their families.
Instead, they come under deadly fire.
On Wednesday, Israeli tanks fired into a crowd trying to get aid from trucks in Gaza, killing at least 59 people, in one of the bloodiest incidents yet in mounting violence as desperate residents struggle for food.
Video circulating on social media showed limp, mangled bodies sprawled across the road—some still clutching bags of flour.
This has been going on for over three weeks resulting in the deaths of more than 420 Palestinians by Israeli fire near the three aid distribution points in the central and southern areas of the blockaded enclave.
Witnesses described being shot at by Israeli ground troops and drones, and said that crowds waiting for food were shelled.
Many others were seriously wounded, and with Gaza’s healthcare system largely destroyed by Israeli attacks, they are left without critical medical care—facing intense suffering and the risk of death.
The controversial US-Israeli aid distribution mechanism, handled by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), began operations for the first time on May 27, following nearly three months of a complete Israeli ban on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
GHF positioned itself as a humanitarian effort aimed at feeding Gaza’s civilian population, where the UN warns that over two million people face the threat of starvation.
Relying on armed American private security contractors, the foundation distributes aid independently of the UN, which has traditionally been the main provider in the territory.
Critics argue that GHF is helping implement an Israeli strategy to push Palestinians into increasingly confined areas in the south of Gaza.
Israel, which has long opposed the UN’s central role in Palestinian aid efforts, defends the alternative model as a necessary measure to prevent aid from being diverted by Hamas.
In a report published by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, it has been revealed that Israel is using a local armed group called the “Abu Shabab Gang”, allegedly created and supported by the Israeli army with logistics and weapons.
Gang members wear uniforms labelled “Palestinian Counter-Terrorism Service” and help control crowds, loot aid, and open fire on civilians under the command of Israeli forces.
The group reportedly loots UN aid trucks, reselling the contents under Israeli military protection.
Foreign mercenaries from a US private military company are involved in direct combat roles in Gaza, acting in coordination with Israeli forces—potentially violating the 1989 UN Mercenary Convention.
These acts may amount to extrajudicial killings, deliberate starvation as a method of warfare, and war crimes under international law.
Israel’s outsourcing of violence does not absolve it of legal responsibility—in fact, it deepens its liability as the occupying power.
The White House said it is reviewing reports of civilian casualties at a Gaza aid distribution site, where officials say dozens were killed and injured in late May.
"We are still collecting more information on the deadly and unprovoked attack on our dedicated local team members and volunteers," GHF interim executive director John Acree said in a statement.
"The administration is aware of those reports, and we are currently looking into the veracity of them. Because unfortunately, unlike some in the media, we don't take the word of Hamas with total truth. We like to look into it when they speak," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
