Amnesty: Israel weaponises aid to carry out genocide in Gaza

Amnesty International on July 3rd accused Israel and its US-backed aid distribution system in Gaza of using starvation tactics to commit genocide against Palestinians, according to The New Arab plus agencies, which cited Amnesty International.

In a newly released report, the UK-based human rights organisation condemned Israel for imposing a militarised humanitarian aid operation through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group supported by the United States.

According to the report, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured near aid distribution points. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that more than 500 Palestinians have died en route to distribution sites or in the premises of the sites, many of which have been positioned near Israeli military outposts and guarded by private security contractors.

Witnesses and Palestinian officials reported that Israeli forces have opened fire on unarmed civilians approaching these centres. Amnesty described the situation as turning “aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate, starving Palestinians,” warning that this has created “a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, directly condemned what she called the “deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution.”

She added that “this devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of” them being targeted. 

Israel continues to deny the allegations. The Israeli Foreign Ministry dismissed the report, accusing the NGO of spreading Hamas propaganda. The Israeli military stated it only fires on individuals it deems “suspicious” and uses warning shots to disperse crowds. Meanwhile, the Israeli defence body COGAT and the Foreign Ministry claimed that since May 19th, over 3,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza, and the GHF has distributed the equivalent of 56 million meals.

However, humanitarian organisations argue these figures fall drastically short of meeting the urgent needs of Gaza’s escalating famine. The World Food Programme (WFP) reported in June that food consumption and dietary diversity in the enclave had reached critical lows, the worst since the conflict’s escalation.

“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 stated.

Amnesty’s report follows a collective statement from more than 165 international NGOs and humanitarian groups calling for the dismantling of the GHF’s operations—denouncing it as an instrument of genocide, which is inhumane, ineffective, and in violation of humanitarian law.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, headed by an evangelical leader and close ally of former US President Donald Trump, reportedly received $30 million in US funding for its operations. Other financial backers remain undisclosed. 

Following nearly three months of Israeli blockade-induced famine in Gaza, the foundation began distributing aid on May 26th after Israel accused Hamas of diverting international aid—claims the UN and multiple aid groups have denied.

In response to the allegations, GHF said: “Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza.” The foundation has called for an Israeli investigation into the claims made by Gaza’s Health Ministry while continuing to deny any responsibility for civilian deaths.

This new escalation of aid weaponisation comes on the back of previous accusations by Amnesty International and other rights groups of Israel committing genocide in Gaza—through the mass killing of civilians, systematic destruction of infrastructure, and deliberate obstruction of humanitarian relief. Israel has consistently rejected these charges, often labelling them antisemitic.

The New Arab plus agencies, Amnesty International, Maghrebi.org