Daijiworld Media Network – Geneva
Geneva, Jul 4: Gaza's Nasser Hospital is functioning as a “massive trauma ward” due to a surge in patients wounded while attempting to collect food from non-UN aid sites run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn told reporters in Geneva that for weeks, hospital staff have been treating daily injuries—mostly bullet wounds—inflicted on civilians at GHF distribution points. “Young lives are being destroyed forever,” said Peeperkorn, recounting the case of a 13-year-old boy shot in the head and a 21-year-old left paraplegic after being shot in the neck.
Despite repeated denials from GHF about any such incidents, the UN human rights office confirmed that as of June 27, at least 613 people had been killed at or near GHF food sites and humanitarian convoys, with 509 of them at GHF locations alone. Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani added that more incidents have occurred since that tally.
The GHF claims it has delivered over 52 million meals “safely and without interference,” contrasting it with aid from other groups that has reportedly been looted. However, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported violent looting and attacks on aid truck drivers, calling the situation “unacceptable.”
Most of the injured at Nasser Hospital are young boys suffering from traumatic wounds to the chest, head, and knees. According to WHO, these injuries confirm reports from families and health workers that the victims were shot while trying to access food aid from GHF sites.
The ongoing war, which erupted after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, has left more than 57,000 Palestinians dead and over two million displaced, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel launched its military offensive in retaliation to Hamas killing 1,200 Israelis and abducting 251 hostages.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that it would be known within 24 hours whether Hamas accepts what he described as a “final proposal” for a Gaza ceasefire.