Good morning. In May 2025, Israel dismantled the United Nations-led humanitarian aid distribution system in Gaza. In its place came a distribution scheme run by the secretive Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that came under immediate scrutiny for its “militarised model” and close ties to Israeli authorities, which rights groups warned “undermines the core humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence”;
In the months since, humanitarians’ worst fears about the aid sites have been realised. International observers have expressed concern as daily reports emerged of civilians being shot, shelled or crushed while attempting to access aid. Almost 1,400 Palestinians have reportedly been killed while seeking food, primarily near GHF distribution sites.
Bitter dispute over responsibility has followed. Journalists, Palestinian eyewitnesses and humanitarian workers on the ground have attributed the killings to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), alleging that soldiers have fired on civilians. The IDF and GHF reject these allegations, denying the reported death toll and claims of misconduct. They argue that accusations of starvation are either exaggerated or the result of a UN failure to distribute aid effectively.
Now, a new investigation by the Guardian has corroborated longstanding claims by Palestinian journalists and aid workers, finding evidence that Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on civilians attempting to access food at GHF sites.
In today’s newsletter, I spoke to investigative correspondent Manisha Ganguly, who led the paper’s visual forensics team, on what her investigation uncovered, and how we reached this catastrophic moment. That’s after the headlines.
Five big stories
Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his plan to take control of Gaza City, even as senior UN officials warned the move risked unleashing “another calamity” on the territory. On Sunday, Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Al Jazeera journalist, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel admitted a deliberate attack on the journalist.
Europe’s leaders have raised the pressure on Donald Trump to involve Ukraine in a planned summit with Vladimir Putin, as Germany warned the White House against any deal hatched “over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians”.
Research has found that lower-income householders, minority ethnic people, and those with young children are more likely to live in homes at risk from dangerous overheating.
Half of the people arrested during the protest in relation to Palestine Action in London on Saturday were aged 60 or above, according to police figures. A total of 532 people were arrested at the largest demonstration relating to the group – all but 10 under section 13 of the Terrorism Act for displaying supportive placards or signs.
Foreign criminals from 15 more countries face deportation before they have a chance to appeal, in an expansion of the UK government’s “deport first, appeal later” scheme.
In depth: ‘The Israeli military is indiscriminately firing on Palestinians’
When Israel shut down the UN-led humanitarian aid system, the government alleged Palestinian militant group Hamas was diverting aid to support its operations. However, a USAID analysis published last month found no evidence of large-scale diversion of aid by Hamas. The following day, The New York Times reported that an Israeli military official acknowledged there was no proof Hamas was routinely stealing UN-provided aid.
Manisha Ganguly’s Analysis
Manisha Ganguly, the investigative correspondent, has reviewed a range of evidence, including videos uploaded by Palestinians, reports from doctors at Nasser hospital and the International Red Cross, and even photographs of bullets removed from patients. Her analysis paints a shocking picture of Israeli forces firing indiscriminately on Palestinian civilians attempting to access food.
She reports that in numerous videos, the machine gun fire can be heard, and a weapons expert told her the machine guns heard are likely Israeli. There is a correlation between the spikes in gunshot wounds and the days when food was being distributed, at a level unprecedented in the war. The bullets removed from patients matched the calibre used by the IDF, confirming the firing on civilians.
Both the IDF and GHF have denied these allegations, with the IDF claiming they have orders prohibiting intentional fire on civilians and GHF accusing Manisha of aiding Hamas.
Despite the GHF’s response, evidence suggests the Israeli military is involved in sustained and indiscriminate firing on Palestinians seeking food aid. The Israeli plan to expand the GHF’s operations through 12 new sites and 24-hour operations may ease travel but does not address the core issue of the military’s actions.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/11/first-edition-ghf-food-site-investigation
