Israeli forces have killed more than 120 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip within the past 24 hours, including dozens seeking humanitarian aid, as relentless attacks continue across the besieged territory, according to medical sources.
The overall Palestinian death toll since the start of the war has now exceeded 55,000.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 57 people were killed and over 360 wounded while trying to access aid since Wednesday morning.
The casualties occurred at distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial initiative backed by both the United States and Israel and operating in tightly controlled Israeli zones.
Despite growing criticism, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has praised the GHF aid scheme as a “dramatic success.” However, international condemnation is mounting over what many view as a humanitarian catastrophe.
The aid sites in Rafah and the Netzarim Corridor have been labelled “human slaughterhouses” by local officials, with more than 220 Palestinians reportedly killed while attempting to collect food parcels since the foundation began operations on May 27.
The Israeli military acknowledged its troops fired “warning shots” in the vicinity of the Netzarim Corridor overnight, where the majority of the recent fatalities were reported.
Gaza’s Government Media Office accused Israel of deliberately creating chaos by enforcing starvation and targeting desperate civilians seeking aid.
The United Nations strongly condemned the killings and has refused to participate in the GHF scheme. UN officials described the programme as a violation of humanitarian principles and a distraction from ongoing atrocities.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said the effort was a “waste of resources” and reiterated its readiness, along with other long-standing humanitarian partners, to deliver aid effectively and safely.
Israel has barred UNRWA and other established international aid agencies from operating in Gaza, maintaining a strict blockade despite warnings of an imminent famine.
The closure of experienced humanitarian channels has further deepened the crisis, leaving millions of Palestinians with limited access to food and medical supplies.
Chris Newton, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said the current aid system appears structured to ensure Palestinian dependency and suffering while encouraging displacement toward southern areas. He noted that the GHF’s food packages, which aim to provide 1,750 calories per person per day, fall below minimum crisis nutrition standards.
“That amount of food is closer to the ration given in a starvation experiment run in the 1940s in the US than it is to Israel’s own previous 2008 red line for the minimum calories needed to avoid malnutrition in Gaza,” Newton told the local media.
With hunger escalating and civilians being killed at aid distribution points, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate.
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