Militarized Gaza aid system shows Israel's continued use of starvation as weapon of war, Amnesty report says

Sara Jabakhanji · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 03, 2025 7:29 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

A caller Amnesty International study says the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a arguable U.S.- and Israel-backed radical that took implicit assistance organisation successful the territory much than a period ago — uses a militarized assistance mechanics that enables Israel to usage starvation arsenic a limb of warfare and inflict genocide against Palestinians.

The study published Thursday points astatine grounds gathered from aesculapian staff, parents of children hospitalized for malnutrition and displaced Palestinians struggling to find nutrient successful the war-torn enclave.

"Their accounts supply further grounds of the catastrophic suffering caused by Israel's ongoing restrictions connected life-saving assistance and its deadly militarized assistance strategy coupled with wide forced displacement, relentless bombardment and demolition of life-sustaining infrastructure," U.K.-based quality rights radical Amnesty International said in its report.

The latest study comes arsenic astatine slightest 45 Palestinians were killed overnight connected Wednesday successful an effort to find aid, Gaza's Health Ministry said. 

Five radical were killed portion extracurricular sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), while 40 others were killed waiting for assistance trucks successful different locations crossed the Gaza Strip.

WATCH | Dozens of Palestinians killed portion trying to scope assistance connected Thursday:

The Israeli subject said it was looking into the reports and that its forces were taking precautions to mitigate harm to civilians arsenic it battled Palestinian militants throughout Gaza.

CBC News reached retired to GHF for remark but it did not instantly perceive back.

Amnesty accuses Israel of turning assistance entree into 'booby trap'

Since precocious May, when GHF launched operations, astatine slightest 650 Palestinians person been killed successful shootings and much than 4,500 person been injured adjacent GHF assistance sites oregon connected routes to the sites guarded by Israeli forces, according to Gaza's Health Ministry successful an update connected Thursday.

Amnesty said Israel has "turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for hopeless starved Palestinians" done GHF's militarized hubs, creating conditions of "a deadly premix of hunger and illness pushing the colonisation past breaking point." 

"This devastating regular nonaccomplishment of beingness arsenic hopeless Palestinians effort to cod assistance is the effect of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable effect of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution," said Agnès Callamard, caput wide of Amnesty International.

"Not lone has the planetary assemblage failed to halt this genocide, but it has besides allowed Israel to perpetually reinvent caller ways to destruct Palestinian lives successful Gaza and trample connected their quality dignity."

The study comes connected the heels of astir 170 non-governmental organizations calling for the dismantling of the GHF-run assistance system, saying it forces Palestinians to be caught betwixt starvation and danger, successful a associated connection Tuesday. The GHF said connected Wednesday it was readying to unopen its subdivision successful Geneva after Swiss authorities launched proceedings to dissolve it.

Israel's overseas curate denounced the Amnesty report, saying the enactment has "joined forces with Hamas and afloat adopted each of its propaganda lies."

GHF contractors accidental information unit heavy armed

Two U.S. contractors who spoke to The Associated Press connected Wednesday connected information of anonymity said they were disturbed by what they considered unsafe and irresponsible practices by the GHF. 

The contractors said the information unit hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavy equipped and seemed to person an unfastened licence to bash immoderate they wished, adding that their colleagues regularly lobbed stun grenades and capsicum spray successful the absorption of the Palestinians.

WATCH | Palestinians picture deadly attacks en way to GHF assistance sites: 

Last week, Israel's Military Advocate General ordered an probe into imaginable warfare crimes aft Israeli paper Haaretz published allegations that Israeli soldiers were ordered by the service to deliberately occurrence astatine Palestinians attempting to scope assistance organisation sites.

The Israeli subject acknowledged connected Monday that Palestinian civilians person been harmed astatine assistance organisation centres successful the Gaza Strip, saying that Israeli forces had been issued caller instructions pursuing "lessons learned."

The Israeli service says it has fired informing shots to power crowds and lone fires astatine radical it says are acting suspiciously.

The overseas ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defence assemblage successful complaint of co-ordinating assistance to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the introduction of much than 3,000 assistance trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19.

Humanitarian organizations accidental that magnitude is not astir capable to conscionable overwhelming request successful Gaza.

Israeli strikes lb Gaza overnight

Dozens of radical were killed successful airstrikes that pounded the portion Wednesday nighttime and Thursday morning, including 15 radical killed successful strikes that deed tents successful the sprawling Mawasi zone, wherever galore displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and a onslaught connected a schoolhouse successful Gaza City sheltering displaced people.

Gaza's Health Ministry said the fig of Palestinians killed successful Gaza has passed 57,000, including 223 missing radical who person been declared dead.

The deaths travel arsenic Israel and Hamas inch person to a imaginable ceasefire that would extremity the 21-month war. U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on the presumption for a 60-day ceasefire successful Gaza and urged Hamas to judge the woody earlier conditions worsen. But Hamas's response, which emphasized its request that the warfare end, raised questions astir whether the latest connection could materialize into an existent intermission successful fighting.

WATCH | Israel said it wants a ceasefire, Hamas said it is studying the proposal:

The Israeli subject blames Hamas for the civilian casualties due to the fact that it operates from populated areas. The subject said it targeted Hamas militants and rocket launchers successful bluish Gaza that launched rockets toward Israel connected Wednesday. 

The warfare began connected Oct. 7, 2023, erstwhile Hamas-led militants attacked confederate Israel, sidesplitting 1,200 radical and taking astir 250 hostages.

The warfare has near the coastal Palestinian territory successful ruins, with overmuch of the municipality scenery flattened successful the fighting. More than 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 cardinal colonisation has been displaced, often aggregate times.