The conflict in Gaza has been marked by 21 months of abject horror and dehumanisation.

The world has watched as a civilian population, unable to flee, has been starved, forcibly displaced and bombarded by one of the world’s most “sophisticated” militaries — armed by Western states. In May 2025, the unfolding genocide in Gaza was marked by a disturbing new development as Israeli authorities moved to dismantle the UN-led humanitarian response, replacing it with a militarised food distribution scheme run by a previously unknown entity — the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF has been touted by the Israeli and US governments as an “innovative solution” — a supposed answer to unproven claims of aid diversion in Gaza and unfounded accusations of UN failure.

In practice, the militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation and curated suffering. Distributions at GHF sites have resulted in extreme levels of violence and killings, primarily of young Palestinian men, but also of women and children, who have gone to the sites in the hope of receiving food. At the time of writing, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that more than 1,000 people have been killed and 7,200 injured while attempting to collect aid — the vast majority of them at GHF distribution sites. Shockingly, we have witnessed the impact of the violence with our own eyes. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams have been working on the frontline, treating people with devastating injuries — gunshot wounds, barbed wire lacerations, crush injuries from stampedes — sustained while trying to receive aid at GHF distribution sites.

Testimonies from our patients describing their experiences at the GHF distribution sites depict a level of dehumanisation and violence, both indiscriminate and targeted, which is beyond disturbing. As described by Doctors Without Borders' medical coordinator, our teams were mentally prepared for responding to conflict — but not to civilians killed and maimed while seeking aid. They were not prepared for treating starving and unarmed Palestinians who had been gunned down as if they were animals, often while penned into metal-gated areas. The medical data is clear. This is not aid. It is orchestrated killing.

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