HRW slams 'death trap' US-backed aid centres in Gaza

Jerusalem: Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Israeli forces operating outside US backed aid centres in Gaza of routinely killing Palestinian civili...

Jerusalem: Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Israeli forces operating outside US-backed aid centres in Gaza of routinely killing Palestinian civilians seeking food, as well as using starvation as a weapon of war.

"US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths," said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch.

After nearly 22 months of war in Gaza between Israeli forces and Hamas, the Palestinian territory is slipping into famine and civilians are starving to death, according to a UN-mandated expert report.

Israel and the United States have backed a private aid operation run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) at four sites inside Gaza, protected by US military contractors and the Israeli army.