UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the killing and wounding of dozens of civilians in southern Gaza while they were trying to obtain food. He described the incident as “unacceptable” and called for an immediate and independent investigation to ensure accountability.

Guterres’ statements were made by his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, during a press conference in Geneva:

The Secretary-General condemns the loss of lives and injuries of civilians in Gaza who are once again being shot at while seeking food. It is unacceptable.

Haq reported that:

The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate and independent investigation into all such reports and for accountability to be established.

UN call for food aid investigation

The statement came following a new massacre committed by the Israeli army against civilians at the Tahlia Roundabout in Khan Yunis. The Israeli attack killed 51 people and injured more than 200 others, according to data from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

According to the UN, the occupation has killed more than 400 civilians in aid distribution areas. A large number of these have been set up in partnership with the US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in  locations across the Gaza Strip. As the Canary have previously reported:

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution mechanism reinforces control over the life-saving supplies that are so desperately needed by Gaza’s population, giving Israel the power to decide who receives aid and who will be left to die, while attempting to mislead the public into believing Palestinians are benefitting.

The Secretary-General called for an urgent and independent international investigation into the targeting of civilians in the vicinity of aid distribution centres. He particularly stressed the need to hold those responsible for these violations accountable.

In the same context, Haq pointed out that Israel, as the occupying power, has a clear legal responsibility under international humanitarian law to facilitate unimpeded access to humanitarian aid for civilians in need.

Rogue organisation

Since late May, Israel has begun implementing an alternative plan to distribute aid through the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Relief Foundation” (GHF). The GHF is an Israeli- and US-backed entity that has been rejected by the United Nations because it operates outside the approved UN and international frameworks.

The UN spokesperson stressed the need to allow humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations, to operate within Gaza in complete safety and with full respect for humanitarian principles, calling for the immediate and large-scale resumption of aid deliveries.

Since the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, Gaza has been subjected to a devastating war carried out by Israel with US support, including killing, starvation, and displacement, amid continued disregard for international appeals and direct violation of the orders of the International Court of Justice.

This war has resulted in more than 184,000 deaths and injuries, most of them women and children, in addition to more than 11,000 missing persons, a catastrophic famine that has claimed the lives of dozens, as well as widespread destruction and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Al Jazeera

By Alaa Shamali

This post was originally published on Canary.