Israel Kills Dozens of Palestinians Seeking Food | Palestine Policy Roundup 06.02.25
Welcome to the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Nydia Velázquez: “The Trump-backed aid plan in Gaza is woefully insufficient. Families walk miles only to face chaos instead of food. This crisis is the result of Netanyahu’s blockade. Gaza is on the brink of famine. The blockade must end, and there must be an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”
IN THE NEWS
▶️ IMEU PUBLISHES VIDEO ON ISRAEL’S WEAPONIZATION OF FOOD IN GAZA
IMEU Policy Project’s sister organization, the Institute for Middle East Understanding, published a video showcasing how Israel is starving to death Palestinians by its near-complete blockade on aid entering Gaza and outlining how the US- and Israel-backed plan led by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund would enable Israel to implement its long-standing goal of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.
The video notes that Israel’s weaponization of food is a violation of international and US law, especially Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act, and calls on the US to take action to end its complicity in genocide. Members of Congress should enforce Section 620I by ending US weapons transfers to Israel.
⚖️ TRUMP ADMIN’S USE OF OBSCURE LAW USED TO DETAIN MAHMOUD KHALIL FOUND LIKELY UNCONSTITUTIONAL IN FEDERAL COURT
On Wednesday, federal judge Michael Farbairz found that the federal government’s use of a draconian and rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act is likely unconstitutional.
This is an important rebuke of the Trump administration’s campaign to crack down on speech and activism in support of Palestinian rights: the federal government used the same provision against Mohsen Mahdawi and attempted to use it against Rümeysa Öztürk. The provision also reportedly has been used to revoke hundreds of other visas.
Mahdawi and Öztürk have been released from ICE detention. In both of the decisions ordering their releases, federal judges noted the free speech concerns raised by the Trump administration’s targeting of the students.
In his decision, Judge Farbairz issued a stark warning about the potential effect of the Trump administration’s use of this provision, writing that if it can be used against Khalil, “…then other, similar statutes can also one day be made to apply. Not just in the removal context, as to foreign nationals. But also in the criminal context, as to everyone.”
While this is an important legal victory, the court did not order Khalil’s release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and asked for more information to rule on his habeas petition. This case is also separate from his immigration case and challenges his detention by ICE. Khalil’s immigration case is being heard in Louisiana and focuses on his removability under immigration law.
⚠️ REPORT DOCUMENTS SYSTEMATIC USE OF PALESTINIANS AS HUMAN SHIELDS BY ISRAELI MILITARY
A new report published by the Associated Press revealed that the Israeli military has systematically used Palestinians as human shields during its genocide in Gaza. The report interviewed seven Palestinians who said they were used as human shields and two Israeli soldiers who reportedly engaged in the practice.
Palestinians interviewed by the AP described being forced to search buildings, including houses and hospitals, and to inspect holes for the purpose of “clearing out” any hazards such as explosives. One Palestinian, Ayman Abu Hamadan, reported that he was beaten by Israeli soldiers and that he was forced to inspect houses. Once a house was considered clear, he reported that the soldiers would damage or destroy the house.
Both Abu Hamadan and another Palestinian who the AP interviewed, Hazar Estity, reported that they were used as human shields after they were detained by the Israeli military. Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been abducted and detained by Israel since it began its genocide in Gaza.
The Israeli soldiers reported that the practice of using Palestinians as human shields was widespread, and that some commanders ordered soldiers to use Palestinians in this way. According to an officer who spoke to the AP, every Israeli infantry unit in Gaza used Palestinians as human shields by summer 2024.
Another soldier told the AP that his unit was forced to use Palestinians as human shields after they tried to refuse the practice, and that a high-ranking officer said they shouldn’t worry about international humanitarian law.
The Israeli military has been documented using this practice for more than two decades, but Israel’s assault on Gaza appears to have made it more widespread. Using human shields is a violation of the Geneva Conventions; its widespread use by Israeli units violates both international and US law.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
🍎 DOZENS OF PALESTINIANS KILLED AS US-BACKED WEAPONIZATION OF FOOD PROGRAM BEGINS
Yesterday, at least 30 Palestinians were killed while attempting to reach a distribution site operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in Rafah. According to eyewitnesses and hospital officials, the Israeli military shot at Palestinians; under the GHF plan, the Israeli military set up perimeters around distribution sites and eyewitnesses testified that the area in which they were shot is under Israeli control. Palestinians reportedly were headed to the GHF site before dawn, presumably to avoid crowding and to ensure they received aid.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Palestinian eyewitnesses described to CNN the attack and danger of the US-backed weaponization of food plan. Mohammad Qdeih said: “The amount of aid the Americans bring is tiny. Whoever manages to push forward might get something. Those who can’t get nothing. They’re sniping everyone — women, children, innocent civilians who have nothing to do with anything.” Basel Abu Alwan said: “No distribution happens. People move forward and fall. Gunfire is sprayed randomly at everyone. Whoever can grab something does. If not, they may get trampled,” he added.
To be clear: this is a very clear attempt by Israel to continue weaponizing food. As Israel prepares for the potential ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza, this plan concentrates hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into small parts of the area. Palestinians have to leave what is left of their homes as the Israeli military seeks to implement its plan of violent military control of Gaza.
The rollout of the US- and Israel-backed campaign to weaponize food in Gaza has been associated with multiple instances of Israeli soldiers reportedly killing and injuring Palestinians who were attempting to receive the meager provisions provided by the GHF. Before Sunday, at least 17 Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli military while attempting to reach GHF sites, according to an official with the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. Ten of those were killed in the first 48 hours after the sites began operating. Dozens of Palestinians have also been injured while attempting to reach the sites, with Israeli troops repeatedly opening fire on Palestinians.
Palestinians also reported dehumanizing scenes at the sites, and pictures of Palestinians gathered there were reminiscent of other horrifying genocidal and ethnic cleansing campaigns. With only a few sites operating across all of Gaza, many Palestinians are forced to walk long distances to only have a chance at receiving the parcels of food. Reportedly, several Palestinians were also abducted from the sites and interrogated by the Israeli military.
This weaponization of food is not meant to meet the needs of Palestinians, who have been starved by Israel’s near-total blockade on the entry of aid to Gaza since March 2. Palestinians reported that the boxes given at the GHF sites cannot support their nutritional needs. Additionally, the aggregate amount of food brought in through the GHF pales in comparison to the needs of Palestinians, who are facing a critical risk of famine.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: In response to the dehumanization of Palestinians at GHF sites, Doctors Without Borders Secretary-General Christopher Lockyear said: “This initiative seems to be a cynical ploy to feign compliance with International Humanitarian Law. In practice, it uses aid as a tool to forcibly displace people as part of what appears to be a broader strategy to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip. It is also used to justify the continuation of a war waged without limits…Along with displacement orders and bombing campaigns that kill civilians, weaponising aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity. Only a lasting ceasefire and the immediate opening of Gaza’s borders for humanitarian aid – including food, medical supplies, fuel and equipment – can ease this man-made catastrophe.”
The killing, wounding, and abject dehumanization of Palestinians in this process makes the real purpose of this US- and Israel-backed plan clear: to militarize food in order to potentially facilitate the forcible transfer of Palestinians out of their homes and eventually out of their homeland. Israeli officials have made it clear that the purpose of allowing any aid into Gaza is to shore up support for the potential implementation of Israel’s long-standing ethnic cleansing campaign.
Israel is still using starvation as a method of warfare, in violation of international law and Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act. Members of Congress should continue to speak out against Israel’s virtual blockade on aid and take action to end weapons transfers to Israel.
🏫 ISRAEL STRIKES SCHOOL SHELTERING DISPLACED PALESTINIANS, SPARKING INFERNO
The Israeli military attacked the Fahmi al-Jarjawi school in Gaza City last Monday, killing at least 30 Palestinians after the bombing sparked a fire that ripped through the school and tents surrounding it. The school, like many others in Gaza, was being used as a shelter for Palestinians displaced by Israeli attacks elsewhere in the territory. In the aftermath of the attack, a harrowing video of a girl reportedly attempting to escape the school went viral.
Ward al-Sheikh Khalil survived the strike, but was injured in the fire that happened afterwards. She described watching her mother and her siblings burn to death. Ward’s father survived the attack but was in critical condition. Her uncle, Iyad al-Sheikh Khalil, reported that the bodies of Palestinians at the school were torn apart and that he and others struggled to identify the victims.
According to reporting by Al Jazeera, US-supplied weapons were used in this apparent violation of international humanitarian law. Fragments of US-supplied GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs were identified in the aftermath of the strike; this was corroborated by the Open Source Munitions Portal.
Under US law such as the Arms Export Control Act, weapons shipments to Israel should be halted in response to this and countless other apparent war crimes and violations of international law. This should be yet another reason for Members of Congress to exercise their oversight authority and end weapons shipments to Israel.
Photo: Anas-Mohammed, via Shutterstock. Stock Photo ID: 2566409903