DaysofPal – The United Nations warned Monday that more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since May while attempting to obtain food, a staggering toll linked to what it described as Israel’s militarization of aid routes and distribution areas in the besieged enclave.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said civilians in Gaza are being shot at and killed while trying to reach desperately needed food and assistance.
“Palestinians trying to obtain food are being killed,” he stated, noting that many of these deaths occurred along aid routes coordinated by the United Nations and its partners.
Haq emphasized that the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, as UN agencies and aid groups have been unable to meet the population’s basic shelter needs. No materials for shelter construction have been permitted into Gaza since March, leaving tens of thousands without protection amid bombardment and displacement.
“Some food supplies were allowed in last week,” Haq acknowledged, “but they did not meet Gaza’s needs, and hunger, especially among children, has reached dire levels.”
The UN reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire and demanded unrestricted humanitarian and commercial access to the Gaza Strip.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed Saturday that 1,422 people have been killed and over 10,000 wounded by Israeli fire at aid distribution points since May 27. The ministry added that more than 150 others have died from hunger, malnutrition, or the effects of Israel’s ongoing blockade and what it called a deliberate “war of starvation.”
Despite mounting global pressure, aid remains critically bottlenecked. Following Israel’s destruction of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, trucks entering from Egypt are rerouted to Kerem Shalom, where they undergo lengthy Israeli inspections. Most are held up for days or denied entry altogether.
On July 26, Israel’s state broadcaster revealed that the Israeli occupation forces had destroyed food, water, and medical supplies from over 1,000 aid trucks that were left to rot at Kerem Shalom after being barred from reaching Gaza.
According to Gaza’s government media office, since July 27 Israel has allowed only 674 aid trucks to enter the Strip, just 14% of the minimum daily requirement of 600 trucks needed to sustain the population.
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