UNITED NATIONS
\nIsraeli occupation forces killed at least 40 people, half of them near an aid distribution site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday, the war-shattered enclave\u2019s health ministry said, as U.N. officials denounced Israeli-backed aid delivery arrangements.
\nMedical workers said at least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded near an aid distribution site in Rafah, the latest in daily mass shootings that have killed hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food since Israel imposed a new distribution system after partly lifting a near three-month total blockade.
\nPhilippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stated Monday that \u201cstarving people\u201d are still being killed in Gaza, and that the current aid distribution system as a \u201cdeath trap\u201d. He cited reports of mass casualties among starving civilians at distribution points, including injuries and deaths from gunshots.
\n\u201cThis system forces desperate people to walk long distances to access aid, often to areas heavily impacted by bombardment, excluding those unable to travel or living far away,\u201d Lazzarini said.He argued that aid deliveries and distribution should be conducted by the UN and UNRWA for safety and effectiveness. Call to lift the siege:
\nIn this regard, the UNRWA chief urged Israel to lift the siege on Gaza and allow safe, unhindered access for humanitarian aid to prevent mass starvation. In Geneva, the UN rights chief issued his sharpest criticism toward the suffering inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza by Israel, saying: \u201cIsrael\u2019s means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza.\u201d
\nHigh Commissioner Volker Turk, the UN rights chief, accused Israel of \u201cweaponizing food and blocking life-saving aid,\u201d and called for \u201cimmediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians trying to reach food distribution centers.\u201d
\nHe expressed alarm at the \u201cdisturbing, dehumanizing rhetoric from senior Israeli government officials,\u201d warning that such language is \u201creminiscent of the gravest of crimes.\u201dTurk also criticized Israel\u2019s restrictions on press access in Gaza, stating that its refusal \u201cto allow international journalists to report from Gaza has helped its armed forces and Hamas to avoid transparency and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS Israeli occupation forces killed at least 40 people, half of them near an aid distribution site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday, the war-shattered enclave\u2019s health ministry said, as U.N. officials denounced Israeli-backed aid delivery arrangements. Medical workers said at least 20 people were killed and 200 others wounded near […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-484936","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n