Gazans risking lives to get food shows level of desperation – ICRC

The plight of Gazans searching for food has been described as "catastrophic" and "desperate" in an emotional and exclusive interview with a spokesperson from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

At least 67 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire waiting for UN aid trucks in northern Gaza on Sunday, the Gaza health ministry said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced people.

The ministry said dozens were also wounded in the incident in northern Gaza. It was one of the highest reported death tolls among repeated recent cases in which aid seekers have died, including 36 on Saturday who were heading to an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the U.S. and Israel-backed group.

Jacob Kurtzer, Communication Coordinator for the ICRC in Israel and the Occupied Territories, told CGTN Europe: "We have seen and we continue to see people coming to the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah who report to us they're coming from food distribution sites. Some unfortunately and tragically show up dead; many others show up with gunshot wounds. 

"It tells us the level of desperation in Gaza, that people are so desperate for food, that hunger is so pervasive, that they're still going to distribution sites, knowing full well the risks. 

"We're struggling to come up with words to describe the situation, but I can certainly call it catastrophic. We see throughout Gaza the extreme levels of hunger."

The UN has called the GHF's model unsafe and a breach of humanitarian impartiality standards, which GHF denies. On July 15 the UN said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks in the vicinity of aid sites and food convoys in Gaza – the majority of them close to GHF distribution points.

Most of those deaths were caused by gunfire that locals have blamed on the Israeli military. The military has acknowledged civilians were harmed, saying Israeli forces had been issued new instructions with "lessons learned."

Israel has denied accusations it is preventing aid from reaching Gaza and has accused Hamas of stealing food, an allegation Hamas denies. It also says the UN has not picked up aid ready to move into Gaza.

Hope needed for Gazans and Israeli hostages

Regarding the safety of civilians and humanitarian workers, Kurtzer added: "We've lost colleagues. Our partners, the Palestine Red Crescent, have lost many colleagues. So even the humanitarian personnel, even the medical personnel, are feeling increasingly unsafe.

"This speaks to the lack of safety for the civilian population as a whole. Protection is the most fundamental human need. Nowhere in Gaza is safe right now. We see that on a daily basis, that people are really struggling, even to just find a safe place to shelter.

"In this constant search for safety, they're exhausted. There is no food and access to clean water is very, very difficult and it's hot. And so the situation is desperate. 

"What we have said at the ICRC is first and foremost, we need a cessation of hostilities. We saw in the period from January to March that when the ceasefire happened, people were able to have a respite from this desperation. 

"People were able to go back to their homes. They were able to find food. They were able to recover, not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically. The constant toll of this violence that it has on people is extreme. 

"The ceasefire provided not just basic goods but it brought hope to Gazans who are struggling in this conflict and also to hostages who were released to their families who could close that very, very difficult chapter.

"The situation is so dire. We need so much more food. We need medical equipment. We needs supplies. We need to fix the infrastructure system to make sure the water system can work and people can have access to clean water. That has to happen independent of everything else. It's a core humanitarian responsibility."