'800 killed in Gaza since May 27 trying to get aid'

Accused of causing the deaths, Israeli army has in turn blamed Hamas for firing at civilians in vicinity of aid centres

- Agence France-Presse

Nearly 800 people have died trying to access aid in Gaza since late May, with most killed near the USand Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s sites, the UN said on Friday.

‘An officially private effort, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking warnings of imminent famine. Since those operations began and through July 7, United Nations rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the agency had recorded “615 killings in the vicinity of the GHF sites”.

‘Another 183 people had been killed “presumably on the routes of aid convoys” carried out by UN and other aid organisations, she told reporters in Geneva. “This is nearly 800 people who have been killed while trying to access aid,” she said, adding that “most of the injuries are gunshot injuries”.

GHF operations, which effectively sidelined a vast UN aid delivery network in Gaza, have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.