Rise in Gaza deaths linked to aid distributions by controversial group

Published

4 days ago

July 3, 2025

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Sky News analysis shows that aid distributions by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) are associated with a significant increase in deaths.

Warning: This article contains descriptions of people being killed and images of blood on a hospital floor.

The US and Israeli-backed group has been primarily responsible for aid distribution since Israel lifted its 11-week blockade of the Gaza Strip last month.

The GHF distributes aid from four militarised Secure Distribution Sites (SDSs) – three of which are in the far south of the Gaza Strip. Under the previous system, the UN had distributed aid through hundreds of sites across the territory.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, 600 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid from GHF sites, which charities and the UN have branded “death traps”.

The UN put the figure at 410, but has not updated this number since 24 June. Both the UN and health ministry source their figures from hospitals near the aid sites.

Speaking to Sky News, GHF chief Johnnie Moore disputed that these deaths were connected with his organisation’s operations.

“Almost anything that happens in the Gaza Strip is going to take place in proximity to something,” he said.

“Our effort is actually working despite a disinformation campaign, that is very deliberate and meant to shut down our efforts.

“We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”

However, new analysis by Sky’s Data & Forensics Unit shows that deaths in Gaza have spiked during days with more GHF distributions.

On days when GHF conducts just two distributions or fewer, health officials report an average of 48 deaths and 189 injuries across the Gaza Strip.

On days with five or six GHF distributions, authorities have reported almost three times as many casualties.

Out of 77 distributions at GHF sites between 5 June and 1 July, Sky News found that 23 ended in reports of bloodshed (30%).

At one site, SDS4 in the central Gaza Strip, as many as half of all distributions were followed by reports of fatal shootings.

Sky News spoke to one woman who had been attending SDS4 for 10 days straight.

“I witnessed death first-hand – bodies lay bleeding on the ground all around me,” says Huda.

“This is not right. Food should be delivered to UN warehouses, and this entire operation must be shut down.”

Huda says that the crowds are forced to dodge bombs and bullets “just to get a bag of rice or pasta”.

“You may come back, you may not,” she says. “I was injured by shrapnel in my leg. Despite that, I go back, because we really have nothing in our tent.”

One of the deadliest incidents at SDS4 took place in the early hours of 24 June.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces opened fire as people advanced towards aid trucks carrying food to the site, which was due to open.

“It was a massacre,” said Ahmed Halawa. He said that tanks and drones fired at people “even as we were fleeing”. At least 31 people were killed, according to medics at two nearby hospitals.

Footage from that morning shows the floor of one of the hospitals, al Awda, covered in blood.

The IDF says it is reviewing the incident.

Issues of crowd control

Unnamed soldiers who served near the aid sites told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that they were instructed to use gunfire as a method of crowd control.

An IDF spokesperson told Sky News that it “strongly rejected” the accusations that its forces were instructed to deliberately shoot at civilians.

“To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians,” the spokesperson said, adding that the incidents are “being examined by the relevant IDF authorities”.

Eyewitness testimony and footage posted to social media suggest that crowd control is a frequent problem at the sites.

The video below, uploaded on 12 June, shows a crowd rushing into SDS1, in Gaza’s far southwest. What sounds like explosions are audible in the background.

Footage from the same site, uploaded on 15 June, shows Palestinians searching for food among hundreds of aid parcels scattered across the ground.

Sam Rose, the director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, describes the distribution process as a “free-for-all”.

“What they’re doing is they’re loading up the boxes on the ground and then people just rush in,” he says.

Sky News has found that the sites typically run out of food within just nine minutes. In a quarter of cases (23%), the food is finished by the time the site was due to officially open.

Confusing communications

Sky News analysis suggests that the issue may be being compounded by poor communications from GHF.

Between 19 June and 1 July, 86% of distributions were announced with less than 30 minutes’ notice. One in five distributions was not announced at all prior to the site opening.

The GHF instructs Palestinians to take particular routes to the aid centres, and to wait at specified locations until the official opening times.

The map for SDS1 instructs Palestinians to take a narrow agricultural lane that no longer exists, while the maps for SDS2 and SDS3 give waiting points that are deep inside IDF-designated combat zones.

The maps do not make the boundaries of combat zones clear or specify when it is safe for Palestinians to enter them.

The same is true for SDS4, the only distribution site outside Gaza’s far south. Its waiting point is located 1.2 miles (2km) inside an IDF combat zone.

The official map also provides no access route from the northern half of Gaza, including Gaza City, across the heavily militarised Netzarim corridor.

“They don’t know what they’re doing,” says UNRWA’s Sam Rose.

“They don’t have anyone working on these operations who has any experience of operating, of administering food distributions because anyone who did have that experience wouldn’t want to be part of it because this isn’t how you treat people.”

Once the sites are officially open, Palestinians are allowed to travel the rest of the way.

The distance from waiting point to aid site is typically over a kilometre, making it difficult for Palestinians to reach the aid site before the food runs out.

The shortest distance is at SDS4 – 689m. At a pace of 4km per hour, this would take around 10 minutes to cover.

But of the 18 distributions at this site which were announced in advance, just two lasted longer than 10 minutes before the food ran out.

“We don’t have time to pick anything up,” says Huda, who has been visiting SDS4 for the past 10 days.

In all that time, she says, all she had managed to take was a small bag of rice.

“I got it from the floor,” she says. “We didn’t get anything else.”

More than 200 charities and non-governmental organisations have called for the closure of GHF and the reinstatement of previous, UN-led mechanisms of aid distribution.

In a joint statement issued on 1 July, some of the world’s largest humanitarian groups accused the GHF of violating international humanitarian principles. They said the scheme was forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarised zones where they face daily gunfire.

Additional reporting by OSINT producers Sam Doak and Lina-Serene.

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

World

Israel attacks Houthi targets at three ports and power plant in Yemen

Published

2 mins ago

July 7, 2025

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Israel attacks Houthi targets at three ports and power plant in Yemen

Israel says its military has attacked Houthi targets at three ports and a power plant in Yemen.

Defence minister Israel Katz confirmed the strikes, saying they were carried out due to repeated attacks by the Iranian-backed rebel group on Israel.

Mr Katz said the Israeli military attacked the Galaxy Leader ship which he claimed was hijacked by the Houthis and was being used for “terrorist activities in the Red Sea”.

It came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation warning for people at Hodeidah, Ras Issa, and Salif ports – as well as the Ras al Khatib power station, which it said is controlled by Houthi rebels.

The IDF said it would carry out airstrikes on those areas due to “military activities being carried out there”.

Afterwards, Mr Katz confirmed the strikes at the ports and power plant.

Earlier in the day, a ship was reportedly set on fire after being attacked in the Red Sea.

A private security company said the assault, off the southwest coast of Yemen, resembled that of the Houthi militant group.

It was the first such incident reported in the vital shipping corridor since mid-April.

The vessel, identified as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas, had taken on water after being hit by sea drones, maritime security sources said. The crew later abandoned the ship.

The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership called an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors.

The Houthis paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched an assault against the rebels in mid-March.

That ended weeks later and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.

A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in US and Western forces to the area.

The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East.

A possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance and Iran is weighing up whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear programme.

It follows American airstrikes last month, which targeted its most-sensitive atomic sites amid an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic that ended after 12 days.

How did the Houthis come to control much of Yemen?

A civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa.

Worried by the growing influence of Shia Iran along its border, Saudi Arabia led a Western-backed coalition in March 2015, which intervened in support of the Saudi-backed government.

The Houthis established control over much of the north and other large population centres, while the internationally recognised government based itself in the port city of Aden.

World

‘We’ll never yield’: Millions of Iranians unite in mourning

Published

2 mins ago

July 7, 2025

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'We'll never yield': Millions of Iranians unite in mourning

Under the red flag of martyrdom, they beat their chests in memory of a fallen religious leader as the cleric recounts his fate outside one of Tehran’s oldest mosques.

Imam Hussein was tricked and martyred by his enemies in the seventh-century battle of Karbala. The crowd of grown men and women wept with grief as Hussein’s story was retold on Sunday.

Ashura is always deeply moving for the Shia faithful but this year even more so. It comes after the trauma of Israel’s surprise attacks on Iran.

There was a sense of emotional release and a chance for Iranians to come together in solidarity.

Ashura is also a reminder that Iran’s revolutionary leaders draw much of their power from the strength of religion in this country after a conflict its enemies hoped would see those same leaders toppled.

The festival has come at just the right time for its embattled government.

Iran’s supreme leader has appeared in public for the first time since Israel attacked his country. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was greeted with ecstatic cheers by his followers at Ashura prayers.

His supporters told us they welcomed his return. “I was so happy that I didn’t know what to do,” said one woman. “This caused our big enemies the United States and Israel to receive a great slap in the mouth.”

“His appearance on TV for Ashura,” a young man told us, “showed that all the talk about him hiding and taking the path of peace with the United States is not true and it shows that he is holding his position strongly and steadfastly”.

We had been given rare access to Iran among a handful of journalists who were let in after the 12-day war.

Its scars aren’t hard to find – buildings left with gaping holes where Israeli airstrikes took out members of Iran’s elite, one after another.

And Abbas Aslani, an analyst with close ties to the government, says there is a fear it may not be over.

“The Iranian government and the army are prepared for a new round of conflict, because they think that the other party, specifically Israel, is not to be trusted in terms of any ceasefire,” he said.

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At the Ashura ceremony, the crowd chants, “we’ll never yield to humiliation” – an age-old message for Iran’s enemies today as they brace for the possibility of more conflict.

World

What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal – and what challenges could lie ahead?

Published

6 hours ago

July 6, 2025

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What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal - and what challenges could lie ahead?

An Israeli delegation is heading to Qatar for indirect talks with Hamas on a possible hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The development comes ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington DC on Monday aimed at pushing forward peace efforts.

The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to secure a permanent ceasefire and an end to the 21-month-long war in Gaza.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday on social media that Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalise” a deal on a truce.

And Hamas, which runs the coastal Palestinian territory, said on Friday it has responded to the US-backed proposal in a “positive spirit”.

So what is in the plan?

The plan is for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by the militant group in exchange for more humanitarian supplies being allowed into Gaza.

The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the war altogether.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. Dozens of hostages have since been released or rescued by Israeli forces, while 50 remain in captivity, including about 30 who Israel believes are dead.

The proposal would reportedly see about half of the living hostages and about half of the dead hostages returned to Israel over 60 days, in five separate releases.

Eight living hostages would be freed on the first day and two released on the 50th day, according to an Arab diplomat from one of the mediating countries, it is reported.

Five dead hostages would be returned on the seventh day, five more on the 30th day and eight more on the 60th day.

That would leave 22 hostages still held in Gaza, 10 of them believed to be alive. It is not clear whether Israel or Hamas would determine who is to be released.

Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

A Hamas official has said Mr Trump has guaranteed that the ceasefire will extend beyond 60 days if necessary to reach a peace deal, but there is no confirmation from the US of such a guarantee.

Possible challenges ahead

And in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained.

The concerns were over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.

Hamas’s “positive” response to the proposal had slightly different wording on three issues around humanitarian aid, the status of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) inside Gaza and the language around guarantees beyond the 60-day ceasefire, a source with knowledge of the negotiations revealed.

But the source told Sky News: “Things are looking good.”

The Times of Israel reported Hamas has proposed three amendments to the proposed framework.

According to a source, Hamas wants the agreement to say that talks on a permanent ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached; that aid will fully resume through mechanisms backed by the United Nations and other international aid organisations; and that the IDF withdraws to positions it maintained before the collapse of the previous ceasefire in March.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that changes sought by Hamas to the ceasefire proposal were “not acceptable to Israel”.

However, his office said the delegation would still fly to Qatar to “continue efforts to secure the return of our hostages based on the Qatari proposal that Israel agreed to”.

Another potential challenge is that Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, which is a demand the militant group has so far refused to discuss.

Hamas has said it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war in Gaza.

Israel rejects that offer, saying it will agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile – something that the group refuses.

Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war’s end, while Mr Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the group’s destruction.