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The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded at least 798 killings over the past six weeks at aid distribution points in the Gaza Strip.
She said the killings occurred at points managed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), as well as near convoys run by other aid organizations.
The GHF uses private American security and logistics companies to bring supplies into Gaza, bypassing the UN-led system, which Israel claims has been exploited by Hamas-led militants to loot aid intended for civilians.
Hamas - which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and EU - denies Israel's accusations.
After the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians trying to reach WFP aid points in areas where Israeli forces operate, the United Nations called this aid model "deeply unsafe" and contrary to standards of humanitarian impartiality.
"(From May 27) to July 7, we recorded 798 killings, including 615 near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation points and 183, most likely, along aid convoy routes," UN office (OHCHR) spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a press conference in Geneva.
The WFP, which began distributing food packages to Gaza in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade, told Reuters that the UN figures are "false and misleading".
It denies that deadly incidents have occurred at its distribution points.
"The fact is that the deadliest attacks in aid countries have been linked to UN convoys," a UN spokesman said.
"The ultimate solution is more aid. If the UN and other humanitarian organizations cooperated with us, we could stop or significantly reduce these violent incidents," he said.
The Israeli military told Reuters it was investigating the high number of casualties and had taken steps to minimize clashes between Palestinians and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), by erecting fences, warning signs and opening additional roads.
The OHCHR said its figures are based on sources such as information from hospitals in Gaza, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs and its partners on the ground.
The majority of Palestinian injuries near aid distribution points recorded by OHCHR since May 27 were gunshot wounds, Shamdasani said.
"We have raised concerns about atrocities that may have been committed and about the risk of further atrocities occurring where people are waiting in line for vital aid such as food," she said.
Israel has said its forces are operating near aid sites to prevent supplies from falling into the hands of militants with whom it has been at war since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023./ REL
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