In Gaza’s overcrowded refugee camps, famine has forced families into desperate choices. For Diaa, a middle-aged father, that desperation cost him his eldest son. Abdullah, 19, was shot dead on August 2 while waiting near a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The GHF began operating in Gaza in May, established by Israel and the US, guarded by the Israeli military and American contractors. Its stated mission is humanitarian relief, but according to eyewitnesses, seeking food there can be deadly.
Abdullah’s friend Moaaz, who was with him, recalled how Israeli gunfire struck the teenager just 30 meters away from where they had been waiting.
“I gave up my eldest son so he could feed his siblings,” Diaa said, clutching Abdullah’s school bag. “May God have mercy on him. He didn’t get the chance to fulfil any of his dreams.”
The tragedy underscores a broader crisis. Gaza is gripped by famine after Israel’s blockade halted adequate aid deliveries in March, following a brief respite during a January ceasefire. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a respected global body, warned in August that famine had reached Gaza City.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects these findings as “an outright lie,” blaming UN agencies for inefficiency and alleging Hamas theft of supplies—claims the UN denies.
The BBC’s new documentary Gaza: Dying for Food, produced by Panorama and BBC Eye, investigates killings near GHF sites. Using whistleblower testimony, open-source intelligence, and video evidence, it documents at least 1,300 Palestinian deaths at or near these aid centers since May, mostly from Israeli fire.
Before GHF’s arrival, around 30 people per month were killed seeking aid; that figure has surged to nearly 500 monthly.
One whistleblower, a GHF subcontractor, described aid points as “military bases on the front line.” His secretly recorded videos show live fire near queues of civilians. Another whistleblower, an IDF reservist named “Michael,” revealed orders to fire warning and lethal shots when Palestinians crossed “red lines.” He admitted the chaos often left civilians vulnerable to deadly force.
International concern is mounting. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called the killings “totally unacceptable” and a grave breach of international law, warning of possible war crimes. Meanwhile, local journalists inside Gaza—at least 248 of whom have been killed during the war—continue documenting what foreign reporters cannot, as Israel restricts access.
The war’s broader toll is staggering. Nearly two years after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks, Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 65,000 Palestinians, including more than 18,000 children, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures, which international agencies treat as credible. Most of Gaza’s 2.2 million civilians have been displaced multiple times, many now facing starvation.
Abdullah’s sticky notes above his desk still remind him to “aim for 95%” in exams he will never sit. For his grieving father, the war has reduced hope to survival. “We are a peaceful people,” Diaa said softly. “But my son died just looking for food.”