Over the past several weeks, obtaining food in Gaza has been more than difficult — it has been deadly.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while heading toward aid sites, many of them by Israeli forces. Many others have serious malnutrition, which Gazan health officials say has caused scores of deaths.
According to Israel’s own data, less food is going into Gaza now than during most other times in the war, when deliveries were generally far below what aid agencies said was necessary and people often went hungry.
How did it get so much worse?
In March, Israel imposed an aid blockade on Gaza in an effort to squeeze concessions from Hamas; it also said, without providing evidence, that the militant group was systematically stealing the supplies. That didn’t force the group to accept Israel’s terms, but it did cause widespread hunger among Gazans.
Amid growing international pressure, Israel established a new aid system in May in southern and central Gaza that would allow it greater control over aid deliveries.
The result has been deadly. More than 600 people have been killed while trying to reach the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, according to the Gazan health ministry. The G.H.F. has disputed reports of shootings at or around its sites, although they acknowledge the areas beyond their perimeter is still an active war zone.
An Israeli military official who briefed reporters later conceded that Israeli forces had killed at least some people, including with artillery shells, as huge crowds tried to reach the sites.
The official said they were isolated episodes and argued that the overall death toll was exaggerated. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to comply with military protocol.
Sometimes, the American security contractors at the sites have thrown tear gas grenades at people crowded into narrow, fenced-in lines with seemingly nowhere to go, footage shows. About 20 people were killed in a stampede at one of the sites in mid-July; the foundation claimed Hamas-linked instigators had started it.
After growing international fury over the humanitarian crisis, the Israeli military announced on Saturday that it would revive airdrops of aid into Gazas.
The airdrops have at times included roughly 10 tons of supplies per drop. A single truck crossing the Gaza border can carry double that far more cheaply.