Behind The Fences: What Is Really Happening At Gaza’s Aid Centres?

More than 130 international charities and humanitarian organizations, including major names like Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Save the Children, are urgently calling for the dismantling of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

According to online media reports, backed by Israel and the United States, the GHF was launched in late May following a three-month Israeli blockade of Gaza.

However, it has come under intense scrutiny amid allegations that it has contributed to worsening conditions and put Palestinian civilians at greater risk.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, July 1, 2025, the organizations condemned the GHF as a “violation of all humanitarian principles.”

Since its inception, more than 500 Palestinians have reportedly been killed and nearly 4,000 injured while attempting to access aid.

The charities say Israeli forces and other armed groups have “routinely” opened fire on unarmed civilians trying to reach food and medical supplies.

These were claims backed by eyewitness reports, local medics, and the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

“Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve, or risk being shot while trying desperately to feed their families,” the statement reads.

It highlights the tragic toll on some of Gaza’s most vulnerable: children and their caregivers.

According to the groups, children have been harmed in over half of the violent incidents reported at GHF aid sites.

Israel strongly denies that its soldiers are targeting civilians deliberately.

The Israeli military has defended the GHF, claiming it provides a more secure and direct method of aid distribution that avoids interference by Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected recent reports suggesting that soldiers had received orders to fire on unarmed civilians near aid centers, labeling them “malicious falsehoods.”

Still, concerns about the GHF’s operations are mounting.

The system replaced a network of 400 decentralized aid distribution points that functioned during a temporary ceasefire.

It consolidated them into just four heavily militarized sites, three in Gaza’s far southwest and one in the center.

Humanitarian organizations argue this approach is not only logistically flawed but inherently dangerous.

The UN has been critical of the GHF from the outset. Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his concerns last week, calling the system “inherently unsafe.”

UN officials warned early on that the new model would “militarize aid,” bypass existing local networks, and force civilians to travel long distances through active conflict zones just to access food and medicine.

A report published Friday in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz further inflamed tensions.

It quoted unnamed Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who claimed they were instructed to fire near unarmed civilians at aid sites to scatter crowds.

The IDF denied the report but acknowledged that it is reviewing incidents where civilians may have been harmed.

In a statement Monday, the IDF announced that changes would be made to the aid distribution process.

The changes, they say, will include the installation of fencing, improved signage, and clearer directions around the sites in hopes of minimizing conflict and confusion.

Despite these promised adjustments, the coalition of charities says the core problems remain unresolved.

“This is not a humanitarian response,” the joint statement emphasized.

“Amidst severe hunger and famine-like conditions, many families tell us they are now too weak to compete for food rations.”

The situation on the ground continues to deteriorate.

Humanitarian access remains limited, and the international outcry over the GHF’s operation is growing louder by the day.

For now, millions of Gazans remain trapped between hunger and gunfire.

On the other hand, aid organizations insist that the current system must be shut down and replaced with a neutral, safe, and community-based model of aid distribution.

As pressure mounts from both global civil society and international institutions, the fate of the GHF could become a litmus test for how humanitarian norms are upheld—or undermined—during conflict.

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