Guterres calls for accountability for those who killed Palestinians during aid distribution

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Monday for accountability for the perpetrators of the killing and wounding of Palestinians seeking relief aid in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier today, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll from the massacres perpetrated by the Israeli army near aid distribution centers in the Strip had risen to 75 dead and more than 400 wounded since May 27.

In a statement, Guterres expressed his alarm at reports of Palestinians being killed and injured while seeking food aid in Gaza on Sunday, according to the UN News website.

Guterres said it was "unacceptable that Palestinians risk their lives for food," and called for "an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held accountable."

Far from the oversight of the United Nations and international relief organizations, on May 27, Israel began implementing a suspicious scheme to distribute "humanitarian aid" through the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation," which is supported by Israel and the United States and rejected by the United Nations.

Israel only allows the complicit "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" to distribute meager "aid" in "buffer zones" in the southern Gaza Strip, with the aim of emptying the north of Palestinians. The Israeli army also fires on the crowds of starving people, leaving dead and wounded.

The UN Secretary-General said, "Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to authorize and facilitate humanitarian aid."

He stressed the "need to restore unhindered, widespread access to aid to meet the massive needs in Gaza immediately," and emphasized the need to allow the United Nations to operate "safely and securely, with full respect for humanitarian principles."

Earlier today, the government media office in Gaza said: "The Israeli occupation forces committed a new crime on Monday, killing three starving civilians and wounding 35 others."

He explained that the massacre occurred "near the so-called aid distribution centers in Rafah (south), and represents a continuation of the policy of starvation and systematic targeting of civilians for 93 days."

Guterres said he "continues to call for an immediate, permanent and sustainable ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

He explained that "this is the only way to ensure security for all and that there is no military solution to the conflict."

Since October 7, 2023, Israel—with American support—has been waging genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The genocide left more than 178,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that killed many, including children.