TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - About 71 Palestinians who were seeking humanitarian aid were killed in an Israeli military attack amid a worsening famine crisis in the Gaza Strip. Reported from Al Jazeera, the latest attack occurred last Wednesday, July 30, when hundreds of Gaza residents moved towards the Zikim crossing in the northern area to collect aid.
The Gaza Government Media Office detailed that at least 51 people were killed and over 648 others were injured in the incident. Similar attacks also took place in the south of Gaza. The Nasser Medical Complex reported 20 people killed while queuing for aid near the Morag Corridor, close to Khan Younis.
Condemnation of GHF
Since May, over 1,000 Palestinians have died in the vicinity of aid distribution centers managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization supported by the United States and Israel. GHF started operating at the end of May 2024.
However, GHF has faced harsh criticism from the United Nations (UN) and several international humanitarian organizations. They believe that the organization has failed to provide adequate assistance and ensure security around the distribution points.
A former GHF security contractor told Democracy Now! that he witnessed American mercenary troops and Israeli forces committing war crimes by indiscriminately shooting starving Palestinians while waiting for aid.
"What I witnessed in Gaza, I can only describe as a dystopian, post-apocalyptic wasteland," said Anthony Aguilar, a retired U.S. soldier. He worked as a subcontractor for UG Solutions, assisting with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's delivery operations.
"We, the United States, are complicit. We are involved, hand in hand, in the atrocities and the genocide that is currently undergoing in Gaza."
Children and the Elderly Becoming Victims
The residents of Gaza continue to be haunted by hunger. The Gaza Ministry of Health recorded 154 deaths due to malnutrition, including 89 children, most of which occurred in the past few weeks. One affected resident, Jihan al-Quraan, told Al Jazeera about the condition of her emaciated daughter.
"Look at her stomach! There is no flesh, just bones from the lack of food – an entire month without bread. I only found some dry pasta shells on the floor," she said.
Netanyahu Denies Famine
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuted allegations that the residents of Gaza are facing famine. In his speech in May, as quoted from Anadolu, Netanyahu stated that Israel is not implementing policies that cause famine.
He claimed that Israeli forces took photos of thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza, and not a single one of them appeared to be starving. "Thousands and thousands of prisoners taking their shirt off and you don’t see one, not one emaciated from the beginning of the war to the present," he said.
Netanyahu also claimed that Israel has provided basic needs such as food, water, and medicine to the residents of Gaza since the beginning of the conflict.
Trump Admits Gaza Residents Are Starving
Netanyahu's statement contradicts the statement made by the President of the United States, Donald Trump. As cited from TRT Global, Trump mentioned that the residents of Gaza are facing real famine.
"We're going to be getting some good strong food, we can save a lot of people. I mean, some of those kids — that's real starvation stuff," he said in a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, last Monday, July 28.
Trump added that the United States and its partners plan to establish food distribution centers for over two million Palestinians in Gaza.
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