As hopes grow for a new ceasefire in Gaza, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official confirmed the continued killings and injuries of Palestinians who sought food near aid distribution points run by the non-UN Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Speaking via video link at a press briefing in Geneva, Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said "scores of Palestinians" have been killed or injured in recent attacks targeting people trying to access food.
He condemned the "senseless" killings and called for an immediate halt to the violence.
"These multiple attacks, which we see in recent days, actually for weeks now, hitting sites hosting displaced people, specifically people trying to access food," he said.
"Life is almost like it's worth one bag of flour or something like that. That's the insane thing what is happening and it's a majority of the casualties directly reported to us by the health workers, but also by the families, was all related to the so-called safe non-UN food distribution sites," he added.
Peeperkorn said that the wounded were "mainly young boys" who went to collect food for their families and were shot "in the head, neck, chest, abdomen, and knees."
Amid the deepening humanitarian crisis, Nasser Hospital in Gaza - once a general hospital - has been forced to make a "difficult choice" due to soaring casualties and a severe shortage of medical supplies.
The hospital now prioritizes trauma cases and has suspended outpatient services for patients with chronic conditions, effectively becoming "one massive trauma ward," he said.
Since the collapse of the last ceasefire on March 18, only seven medical evacuation missions have been permitted, covering just 370 patients and 504 companions, and the figures are a fraction of the estimated 10,000 people in Gaza who urgently need to be evacuated for treatment, he said, urging that "all routes be opened," including those to East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The GHF is operated by U.S. security contractors and is approved by the Israeli government. For the past month, it has operated only four militarized distribution sites in all of Gaza -- as opposed to the traditional UN-led 400 community-located aid hubs.
The GHF has faced mounting criticism for poor management and operational chaos.
According to Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as of June 27, at least 613 people had been killed in attacks near aid distribution points in Gaza. Of those, 509 died in the vicinity of distribution sites operated by the GHF.
WHO official warns of deadly attacks near food aid sites in Gaza
