CAIRO (AP) — Amnesty International accused a controversial Israeli- and U.S.-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza of using starvation tactics against Palestinians to continue to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war with Hamas.
The U.K.-based human rights group released a report Thursday condemning Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the U.S. and Israel have backed to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centers over the past month. The centers are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites.
The Amnesty report said Israel has “turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate starved Palestinians” through GHF’s militarized hubs. The conditions have created “a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”
“This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.
Israel denies accusations
Israel’s foreign minister denounced the Amnesty report, saying the organization has “joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.”
The Israeli army says it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously.
The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19 and GHF has delivered boxes of food with the equivalent of 56 million meals.
Humanitarian organizations say that amount is not nearly enough to meet overwhelming need in Gaza. GHF did not immediately return requests for comment.
The World Food Programme says despite the new Israel-backed initiative, food consumption reached a critical low last month, with food diversity reaching its worst level since the conflict began.
“The continued closure of crossings, intensified violence since March, soaring food prices, and extremely limited humanitarian and commercial supplies have severely restricted access to even basic food items,” the WFP said in a June report.
GHF hubs are close to Israeli military positions
Amnesty’s report follows a statement earlier this week from more than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organizations calling for an immediate end to the foundation. They say the new mechanism allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective.
It’s the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of President Donald Trump. Last month, the U.S. government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operation, the first known U.S. donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque.
GHF started distributing aid May 26 following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that pushed Gaza’s population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.
Palestinian witnesses have describe scenes of chaos around the distribution sites, and two contractors in the operation have told The Associated Press that colleagues fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward crowds of people. Palestinians often must travel long distances to reach the sites.
In a statement Tuesday, GHF rejected criticism of its operations and claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians.
“Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,” GHF said.
GHF has called for Israel’s military to investigate the allegations from Gaza’s Health Ministry, but last month the organization said there has been no violence in or around its centers and its personnel have not opened fire.
Israel demanded the alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The U.N. and aid groups deny there is significant diversion.
Amnesty’s allegations of genocide
Amnesty accused Israel last year of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.
Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.
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Dazio reported from Berlin.
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