RAFIF ESLEEM

Gaza-  The aid distribution sites set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Gaza have turned into “mass death traps” for civilians. Palestinians, who have nothing to eat, are left to suffer from hunger, poverty, and children malnourished.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Elham Shamali, a researcher specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, first talked about the situation of Palestinian women, who have been struggling in the Gaza Strip for nearly 20 months. “They have been displaced repeatedly without a breadwinner.”

She also commented on the politicization of humanitarian aid and said, “The Israeli forces target aid distribution sites every day, killing and injuring aid seekers. They use starvation as a method of warfare against civilians, especially women and children.”

 ‘Attacks on aid distribution sites are a war crime’

Elham Shamali thinks that the GHF set up aid distribution sites in Gaza to stop the efforts of the UNRWA, OCHA, and other UN organizations to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians. “This step is a complementary step after the military takeover of the Gaza Strip to control the city by establishing so-called aid organizations. Since May 27, more than 300 people, who went to get food at aid distribution sites, were killed. Attacks on aid distribution sites are a war crime.”

On May 4, 2025, Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to expand its military offensive called “Operation Gideon's Chariots” in the Gaza Strip. “As part of this plan, the Israeli army aims to seize complete control of the Gaza Strip, displace the entire population to a small area of land in the south and provide Palestinians with only enough food so they do not starve to death. Today, there are more than 1.2 million Palestinians in the northern areas, and the Israeli army aims to confine them to the coastline of the Gaza Strip after taking control of approximately 80% of Gaza.”

‘Chaos spreads in Gaza’

Speaking about the chaos spreading in the Gaza Strip because food has become extremely scarce in Gaza. “Women are killed while trying to get food for their children. A bag of flour weighs approximately 25 kilograms and this is a challenge for Palestinian women, who wait at aid distribution sites for days. I hope this war will end soon so that women’s organizations and NGOs make efforts to provide psychological, financial and social support to Palestinian women.”