Amid deepening famine in Gaza, international alarm is mounting as fatal shootings near aid distribution sites expose the lethal risks Palestinians face in trying to access food.

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With Gaza teetering on the brink of full-scale famine, recent incidents of violence at humanitarian aid sites have intensified scrutiny of the ongoing relief operations. Despite limited Israeli efforts to pause hostilities in certain areas and airdrop supplies, aid groups and local residents say the assistance remains insufficient and sporadic, failing to meet the scale of need in the war-battered enclave.

Over the weekend, hospitals in Gaza reported the deaths of more than a dozen people from Israeli fire, including at least eight who were attempting to obtain food. One of the victims was a young Palestinian killed near a convoy of aid trucks heading toward Gaza City.

“Similar scenes have become increasingly frequent as civilians navigate hazardous conditions to obtain food,” said Yahia Youssef, who was present near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution point on Saturday. After helping evacuate several wounded individuals, he described seeing multiple others bleeding on the ground.

GHF, a U.S.-backed initiative, denied that any incidents occurred at or near its northernmost aid facilities. “Nothing (happened) at or near our sites,” the organization said in a statement. But eyewitnesses at the site offered a different account. “We weren’t close to them (the troops) and there was no threat,” said Abed Salah, a man in his 30s who narrowly escaped injury near the GHF site close to the Netzarim corridor.

The shootings occurred only a day after U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited one of the distribution sites and praised the operation as “an incredible feat.” Still, as hunger-related deaths rise and international outrage grows, questions are mounting over the effectiveness and safety of current aid operations.

Health experts continue to warn that Gaza faces a “worst-case scenario of famine,” with widespread malnutrition aggravated by poor sanitation, collapsed healthcare systems, and underlying medical conditions.

In a U.N.-run school in Gaza City, Samah Matar is caring for her two sons—Yousef, 6, and Amir, 4—both of whom have cerebral palsy and suffer from acute malnutrition. Their deteriorating condition reflects the broader crisis confronting thousands of vulnerable families in the territory.

Unless concrete measures are taken to ensure safe and sustained access to aid, Gaza’s population remains trapped between starvation and violence, with little sign of relief on the horizon.

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