Israel kills dozens at Gaza food lines as UN warns of deliberate starvation

Israel's relentless strikes have killed at least 77 Palestinian aid-seekers in Gaza over the past day, according to health officials in the Strip.

Among the dead were 51 people shot near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza while approaching a food distribution point. Local authorities said Israeli forces opened fire as desperate residents tried to collect flour. More deaths were reported at separate distribution sites across the enclave.

This comes as the UN warned that the number of Palestinians dying from hunger is rising rapidly. A total of 154 people, including 89 children, have now died from malnutrition and dehydration since October 2023, with seven new deaths recorded this week alone.

Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, in violation of international law. She warned that the widespread and systematic deprivation of food and water was both foreseeable and preventable.

"Depriving people of food, water, and dignity has been a serious and recurring violation of this war, and it must end. The risk of all-out famine must be averted," Edwards said in a statement Friday.

The Special Rapporteur added that the psychological effects of starvation, including helplessness, humiliation, and mental trauma, made the practice "inherently cruel".

"No one should have to suffer the humiliation of being forced to beg for food, especially when there are ample supplies waiting to be provided," she said.

Humanitarian agencies, including the World Food Programme and Doctors Without Borders, have warned for months that Israeli restrictions on aid convoys are contributing to famine-like conditions. The UN has repeatedly said that current levels of access are not sufficient to meet basic survival needs for Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.

Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said more than 350 of the organisation’s staff remain inside Gaza and are also struggling to find food and water.

"There is no excuse for what is happening in Gaza. The scale of human suffering and the stripping of human dignity have long exceeded every acceptable standard, both legal and moral," she said.

Strikes kill displaced families in tents

While hunger spreads, Israeli bombardment continued across Gaza overnight, killing civilians in tents and shelters.

A family of four, a man, a woman, and their two children, were killed in an Israeli drone strike in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza. Two more civilians died in a separate attack near Gaza City.

In Khan Younis and northern Gaza, at least five others were killed in renewed shelling, according to reports from the Wafa news agency and local journalists.

One Palestinian was also shot and several others were wounded near an aid queue in central Gaza, health officials said.

The death toll since the war began has now exceeded 60,000, with over 146,000 others wounded, Gaza’s health ministry reported.

'A collapse of conscience'

UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the crisis as a "moral catastrophe" and accused the international community of turning a blind eye to it.

"I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction… This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience," he said in remarks to Amnesty International’s global assembly.

"We hold video calls with our own humanitarians who are starving before our eyes. But words don’t feed hungry children."

Guterres also condemned the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which replaced the UN-led system in May. Since then, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by contractors working at the distribution points while they were queuing for food.

The UN has repeatedly declined to cooperate with the Foundation, citing concerns over neutrality and operational control.

Other rights groups have said the mechanism is inaccessible to Gaza's most vulnerable communities and that it is militarising aid.