Edith Hejberg
Even doctors are forced to line up for aid, risking being shot in the process.
Over a thousand people have been killed waiting in food lines. Now doctors and Nurses are joing the dangerous food lines.
Aid Workers Now Starving Alongside Gazans
Humanitarian workers in Gaza, once providers of aid, are now facing the same fate as those they serve, starvation.
Over 100 global NGOs, including Médecins Sans Frontières and Amnesty International, have warned that the Israeli blockade has not only choked off vital resources but left aid workers fainting from hunger. “We are watching our colleagues waste away,” the joint statement read.
Doctors Risk Their Lives Just to Find Food
Hospitals are no longer just treating the wounded, they’re now treating their own staff for malnutrition. In Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, the director reports that “cases of starvation are arriving every moment.” With food so scarce, even doctors are forced to line up for aid, risking being shot in the process.
Journalists Too Weak to Report
Agence France-Presse (AFP) is attempting to evacuate its remaining freelance journalists from Gaza.
Some reporters are so malnourished they can no longer walk, let alone work. “Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die,” said AFP’s journalists’ union. One photographer described himself as “too lean to move.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Under Fire
The Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, established to coordinate aid, is facing sharp criticism.
Humanitarian groups say the foundation has become a “death trap,” with reports of daily shootings at its distribution sites. One UNRWA official condemned the effort as a “sadistic” system where “snipers open fire randomly on crowds.”
‘Seeking Food is as Deadly as Bombs’
UNRWA’s Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, likened the pursuit of food in Gaza to navigating a war zone. “Seeking food has become as deadly as the bombardments,” she said, adding that even aid staff are collapsing from hunger and exhaustion.
Doctors, nurses, and journalists are now the victims of the very crisis they were documenting or fighting.
Over 1,000 Killed Trying to Get Aid
The toll is staggering: over 1,050 people have died attempting to collect food, including hundreds near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites.
Some were trampled, others fatally stabbed in crowd crushes. The Israeli military has admitted to firing warning shots but denies direct responsibility for most deaths.
International Condemnation Mounts
A coalition of 28 Western nations has criticized Israel’s so-called “drip feeding” of aid into Gaza, warning of catastrophic consequences.
The EU’s top diplomat said plainly, “The killing of civilians seeking aid is indefensible.” Israel, however, dismissed the statement as “disconnected from reality” and blamed Hamas for obstructing aid efforts.
Israel vs. the UN: A War of Words
Israeli officials accuse UN agencies of inefficiency or even complicity, claiming they don’t collect aid or allow Hamas to divert it.
The UN counters that Israel’s military routinely denies access, making it impossible to distribute aid effectively. The tug-of-war is worsening an already desperate humanitarian catastrophe.
Independent Reporting Nearly Impossible
With international journalists barred from entering Gaza, local Palestinian reporters have become the sole chroniclers of the crisis. But their work is becoming impossible.
One AFP journalist, Ahlam, said every trip outside the tent feels like it could be her last: “I don’t know if I’ll come back alive.”
‘A Scandal That Must Stop Immediately’
France’s Foreign Minister called Gaza’s humanitarian situation “inhumane” and promised to evacuate freelance reporters soon.
Though AFP has managed to extract some staff earlier this year, the ongoing blockade makes further efforts perilous. Meanwhile, the death toll among journalists in Gaza has reached record highs, 186 killed since the war began.
