As World Turns Focus to Iran, Lethal Violence Flares at Gaza Aid Sites

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed this week near aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip, according to the territory’s health ministry. But the bloodshed has drawn less international attention as the world’s focus shifts to a new regional conflict between Israel and Iran.

Many of the details surrounding the killings on Monday and Tuesday were not immediately clear. But in recent weeks, Israeli forces have repeatedly used lethal force against hungry and desperate Palestinian civilians to control crowds on the approaches to the new aid sites, forcing many to choose between food and the risk of getting shot.

The aid sites were set up under a new Israeli-backed system run by an American-led company, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. It replaces a system overseen by the United Nations and aims to provide food to civilians without the supplies falling into the hands of Hamas.

The United Nations and other international groups have condemned the new initiative, however, partly because civilians must pass Israeli soldiers to reach the sites, putting them in greater danger. They have also said the amount of aid getting through is woefully inadequate for the population’s needs.

“The danger is too high for me to go to these centers,” Awni Abu Hassira, 38, from Gaza City, said in a phone interview. “I don’t want to face death this way.”

The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 20 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and more than 200 wounded early Monday when a crowd gathered near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza. Israel said it was still looking into the reports.