United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the reported killing and wounding of Palestinians seeking food in Gaza, calling for an independent investigation and renewed humanitarian access.
The UN chief said he was “appalled” by reports that more than 30 people were killed and over 100 others injured on Sunday morning while waiting for food at distribution sites in Rafah and Middle Gaza, according to media reports.
The sites were operated by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an entity backed by Israel and the United States and staffed by private U.S. security contractors under Israeli military supervision.
“It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” Guterres said in a statement released Monday. “I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”
The Secretary-General reiterated that Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law, including the facilitation of aid delivery.
“The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza must be restored immediately,” he said. “The UN must be allowed to work in safety and security under conditions of full respect of humanitarian principles.”
Guterres again urged all parties to agree to “an immediate permanent, sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” stressing that “this is the only path to ensuring security for all. There is no military solution to the conflict.”
Distributions by the GHF began at the end of May, bypassing the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies.
While Israel temporarily allowed limited aid deliveries through the Kerem Shalom crossing—such as flour, medicines, and baby formula—the UN has distanced itself from the GHF.
The Secretary-General and other senior officials have affirmed that the UN “will not participate in any aid plan that does not respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence, and neutrality.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday that conditions in Gaza are deteriorating rapidly, citing both Sunday’s deadly incidents at food aid sites and continued attacks on health facilities.
OCHA reported that the Noura Al Kaabi Centre for dialysis in North Gaza was struck on Sunday. According to Gaza health authorities, 40 percent of dialysis patients in the enclave have died since October 2023 due to damage or inaccessibility of treatment centers.
New displacement orders from Israel on Saturday forced another wave of evacuations, affecting about 100,000 people across Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah. Since March 18, over 640,000 people have been displaced, OCHA said—amounting to nearly a third of Gaza’s population.
“The latest displacement order also deprived at least 8,000 students of learning, as tens of functioning temporary learning spaces and a dozen public schools had to suspend their operations,” the agency noted.
Over the weekend, the UN and its partners retrieved more than 300 truckloads of food and medical aid via the Kerem Shalom crossing. However, access remains heavily restricted.
“Today, one of our attempts to collect supplies from Kerem Shalom was denied. Another was still ongoing, awaiting a green light from Israeli authorities, a pause in the bombing along the route, and the allocation of a viable path,” OCHA said.
“Even when the crossing is open,” the agency emphasized, “severe restrictions on what humanitarians can bring in – both in terms of volume and variety – mean that the supplies currently entering Gaza are still just a trickle and fall far short of what people need.”
Pope Leo XIV recently issued a forceful appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and full respect for international humanitarian law.
“From the Gaza Strip,” the pope said, “we hear rising ever more insistently to the heavens, the cries of mothers and fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of their children, and who are continually forced to move about in search of a little food and water and safer shelter from bombardments.”
His remarks came shortly after nearly 50 Palestinians were reportedly injured while attempting to access food aid at distribution sites in Gaza.
