A Guardian investigation has documented systematic gunfire near food distribution sites in Gaza operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), resulting in more than 2,000 Palestinian injuries over a 48-day period, the majority caused by gunshot wounds.

According to the newspaper’s analysis of over 30 videos recorded near GHF locations, bursts of machine-gun fire could be heard on at least 11 separate days. Bullet casings recovered from wounded patients and ballistic assessments by independent weapons experts indicated the rounds were consistent with Israeli military munitions.

Doctors at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and at the Red Cross field hospital in Rafah told The Guardian they have treated unprecedented numbers of gunshot injuries, almost all reported by patients to have been sustained while attempting to collect food.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed that the volume of casualties during this period exceeded the total treated in mass-casualty events over the previous year combined. Hospital records seen by The Guardian showed that more than 100 people were pronounced dead on arrival after being shot near GHF sites.

United Nations data cited by the report shows that at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food since May 27, including 859 killed in the immediate vicinity of GHF distribution points and 514 along the routes of aid convoys.

Northern Rafah, a flashpoint of Israeli aggression

One heavily affected area was a long road near the GHF facility in northern Rafah, where crowds large enough to be visible from satellite imagery have repeatedly come under fire. In a July incident, video footage captured bullets striking the sand as Palestinians hid from gunfire.

“The gunfire at us was random,” one young Palestinian man told the British newspaper, recalling how a man beside him was killed and carried away in the bag he had brought to collect flour.

In June alone, The Guardian counted 21 days of shootings at food sites that left around 2,000 people injured. The Israeli military admitted to firing on “suspects” or issuing “warning shots” on eight of those days but denied deliberately targeting civilians. Seven incidents remain “under review", and in several cases, the GHF denied that any “incident” had taken place near its facilities.

Chris Cobb-Smith, a British weapons expert, described footage showing bullets hitting the ground close to crowds as “reckless and irresponsible,” stressing that there was “no tactical reason” for such small-arms fire near non-combatants. American analyst Trevor Ball, meanwhile, noted that if the shots were meant as warnings, the practice was “unsafe", warning that ricochets and environmental factors could easily result in deaths.

Bullets removed from wounded Palestinians were examined by the experts, who confirmed calibres of 7.62x51mm and .50 calibre, both standard in Israeli military weapons.

Targeted fire, consistent patterns

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Medical professionals in Gaza also reported patterns in the wounds. Prof Nick Maynard, a consultant surgeon from Oxford University Hospital who has completed several missions to Nasser Hospital, said that injuries often clustered around the same body parts on food distribution days, suggesting targeted fire. “The other night, we admitted four teenage boys, all of whom have been shot in the testicles,” he told The Guardian.

Goher Rahbour, another surgeon at Nasser, said that in every mass-casualty incident involving patients from GHF sites, “100% of the time, [they said] it’s from the Israeli forces.” The Red Cross field hospital in Rafah admitted more than 2,200 patients from 21 separate incidents between May 27 and June 26, according to admission logs reviewed by the paper.

The Israeli occupation forces had alleged that Hamas had stolen aid, a claim the European Commission has found no evidence to support. The Guardian notes that the GHF began operating after the Israeli regime promised to lift its siege to allow the organization in, while veteran aid agencies, such as UNRWA, were denied access. Violence was reported from the outset, with more than 400 people injured and 30 declared dead on arrival at the ICRC field hospital in the first week alone.

Patterns of targeted injuries

By early June, sporadic machine-gun fire was again heard near a GHF distribution site in west Rafah, an area the Israeli regime had previously threatened. Palestinians seeking food were forced to defy those evacuation threats to receive aid.

“We come to get food for our lives, drenched in blood. We will die because we’re trying to get food,” one man told The Guardian, citing one day when 30 people were killed and 170 were injured. He, himself, was shot and killed two days later while again trying to collect food.

In another case, one young man said he queued overnight with his mother and sister after receiving word of aid distribution from the Israeli occupation forces. He said soldiers opened fire, killing his mother. “Either we get them while maintaining our dignity, or we don’t want them,” he said outside Nasser Hospital.

International law and humanitarian standards

Adil Haque, a professor of law at Rutgers University, described the reported incidents as “grave breaches of the fourth Geneva Convention as well as war crimes under customary international law and the ICC statute.” He said that firing on unarmed civilians at a distance could not be considered reasonable or proportionate under the laws of war.

Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead for the Palestinian territories, called the GHF operation “a deadly scheme.” The Guardian also cited reports that some Israeli soldiers had been ordered to open fire on civilians collecting food, and US contractors said colleagues had fired live rounds at Palestinians near aid sites.

Israeli occupation forces rejected the allegations, stating they “unequivocally deny the false allegation that it deliberately targets Palestinian civilians” and claiming they operate under international law and strict ethical standards. The IOF said recent operational adjustments, including installing fences, adding signage, and creating additional routes, aimed to minimize harm.

'Phenomenal' work by GHF 

The GHF accused The Guardian of “aiding a terrorist organisation” and using “false and exaggerated statistics,” while asserting willingness to work with the UN and other aid agencies to improve safety.

Earlier this week, the US ambassador to the occupied Palestinian territories called GHF’s work “phenomenal” and dismissed reports of Israeli fire killing Palestinians as “nonsense", announcing plans to expand operations to 12 more sites and introduce 24-hour distribution.

Moreover, amid the rising deaths at food aid sites, a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza is driving widespread starvation, with experts warning that the situation can no longer be resolved by food aid alone. 

Nearly 200 people have died of starvation, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, though experts believe this figure is an undercount. Many deaths linked to severe acute malnutrition may be recorded under other causes, and many others occur outside medical facilities, where documentation is difficult.

The Israeli blockade on Gaza, now in its 22nd month, has severely restricted the flow of food, medicine, and fuel. Even if aid access improves, experts warn that reversing Gaza's starvation requires more than just an increase in food deliveries. Malnourished patients, particularly children, need targeted therapeutic care, not just calories.

“Just sending food into a crisis situation doesn’t really solve the problem of severe acute malnutrition,” said Robert Akparibo, a global health and nutrition expert at the University of Sheffield. “The availability of food alone is not enough.”

Severe malnutrition can trigger refeeding syndrome, a dangerous condition involving sudden shifts in fluids and electrolytes. It can cause seizures, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest if patients are not closely monitored and carefully treated.