Soldiers Accused of Killing 17 People Seeking Food as UN Says School System in Ruins

Israeli troops killed at least 17 Palestinians trying to reach food distribution sites yesterday, health authorities in Gaza said, as UN experts accused Israel's military of committing war crimes including the destruction of Gaza's education system.

- Emma Graham-Harrison

More than 130 people have been shot dead over the past two weeks in a series of brutally repetitive attacks on desperate crowds trying to access food handouts. Hundreds of others have been injured.

After 11 weeks of total siege and a continuing blockade, many in Gaza are so hungry they are still risking their lives to walk to centers run by the secretive, US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the hope of getting some supplies.

The most vulnerable, including the sick, elderly, and those weakest from hunger, cannot even attempt the dangerous journey.

"This system does not intend to address hunger," said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

"Aid deliveries & distribution must be at scale & safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations including Unrwa. We have the expertise, the knowledge and community trust," he wrote in a post on social media.

Israel has attempted to shift most food distribution away from humanitarian organizations including UN agencies to the GHF, a logistics startup that has never worked in a conflict zone at scale.

GHF hands out food at sites secured by armed guards and under the protection of the Israeli military. Shootings have targeted people traveling to the centers, not inside them or in their immediate vicinity.