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UN: 613 Palestinians Killed at Gaza Aid Sites; GHF Called 'Death Traps'
UN: At least 613 Palestinians killed near US-Israeli-backed Gaza aid sites. Rights groups demand GHF shutdown, calling it a “human slaughterhouse.” Civilians shot seeking food.
ND
by News Desk
2025-07-04
UN: 613 Palestinians Killed at Gaza Aid Sites; GHF Called 'Death Traps'

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has confirmed that at least 613 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to receive aid at or near controversial distribution points managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—an initiative backed by Israel and the United States.

The OHCHR said 509 people were killed near GHF sites alone, while the Gaza Health Ministry places the death toll over 650, with more than 4,000 wounded.

The GHF was launched in May to distribute aid under a new model that the UN has criticized as neither impartial nor neutral. Human rights organizations—including Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Save the Children—have dubbed these aid centers “human slaughterhouses,” demanding an immediate end to GHF operations.

Ravina Shamdasani, OHCHR spokesperson, told reporters, “There have been further incidents since June 27. The death toll may be even higher.”

According to Mahmoud Basal, a civil defence spokesperson in Gaza, many were deliberately shot by Israeli snipers or killed in drone and air strikes while simply trying to access food. “People go in hungry and return as corpses,” said one grieving mother whose son was killed at a GHF site.

In Khan Younis, at least 15 Palestinians were killed on Friday alone, with attacks targeting makeshift tents in what Israel once designated as a "safe zone". The Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, has now been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “massive trauma ward”.

WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn said most of the wounded treated at Nasser were injured while trying to access aid at non-UN food sites. He cited the cases of a 13-year-old boy shot in the head and a 21-year-old rendered paraplegic after a bullet pierced his neck.

Only 16 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza remain partially functional, with about 1,800 total beds, completely overwhelmed by the crisis.

Meanwhile, GHF has denied all accusations, stating its contractors are not involved in any killings—yet offered no evidence. However, a report by Israeli outlet Haaretz quoted soldiers who admitted to receiving orders to shoot unarmed Palestinians attempting to access aid.

The UNRWA, sidelined in favor of the GHF, has called for independent investigations into the killings and questioned the viability of GHF’s four mega-sites, none of which are in northern Gaza, where conditions are most dire.

As of July 2025, over 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, with much of the enclave obliterated, its population displaced and starving.

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 captives, according to Israeli authorities.

 
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