Aid Centers in Gaza Close While Israel Designates Roads as “Combat Zones” and Strikes Kill Dozens

Israel has cut off roads to aid centers in Gaza, making it more difficult for people to get to them and making people worry about their safety.

On Tuesday, all of Gaza’s major aid distribution centers stayed closed because the Israeli military said the roads leading to them would be considered “combat zones.” This caused new worries about how people could get to important humanitarian aid.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial aid group backed by the US and Israel, confirmed the shutdown, saying that “update, organization, and efficiency improvements works” were being done. Critics, on the other hand, say that the time and nature of the shutdown make them worry about safety and openness.

Tensions rose even more after local officials with ties to Hamas said that Israeli gunfire killed at least 27 Palestinians near one of the aid centers on Tuesday. This is the third fatal accident on the way to GHF distribution spots in just ten days.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that troops opened fire after “being aware of suspects who moved toward them while not following the designated access routes.” There was no proof to back up the level of threat the victims offered.

A member of the Palestinian Red Crescent said, “This is becoming a pattern of impunity.” “People are going hungry and putting their lives at risk just to get flour.” Even that is now a death sentence.

In southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a school in Khan Younis that was housing hundreds of relocated families. The attack killed at least eight Palestinians and hurt many more. Medics and onlookers said it was a mess as ambulances rushed through streets full of rubble to get to people who were still alive.

Many times, the UN and other humanitarian groups have asked for safe and unrestricted access to help in Gaza, where the situation is said to be catastrophic for people in need. More than a million people have been forced to leave their homes, and the UN has warned that famine will happen soon if nothing is done right away.

People have said that the GHF works too closely with the Israeli government and isn’t impartial when it comes to giving out aid. The closings and rising violence on Tuesday have made people look more closely at the organization’s role and brought up new concerns about the safety of aid routes in conflict zones.

There is more and more pressure on Israel and its Western partners to make sure that access for humanitarian purposes is not turned into a way to attack. But for the civilians in Gaza who are stuck in the middle of the fighting, each day without food or shelter is a new danger.