28/06/2025
Fact check: Multiple credible sources report that over 400 Palestinians have been killed near aid distribution sites in Gaza since late May 2025, when the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations.
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that more than 400 Gazans have reportedly been killed by Israeli forces while trying to access food and other humanitarian aid at these sites since the GHF started distributing food on May 27, 2025[1].
- Gaza’s Government Media Office reported at least 549 Palestinians killed and over 4,000 injured while attempting to get food from these sites since the GHF began operations[2].
- The New York Times also confirmed that "hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month near aid hubs set up under a new Israel-backed system, according to Gaza health officials"[3].
- BBC Verify examined three deadly incidents in early June 2025 near a controversial aid site, confirming dozens of deaths in just a few days, with eyewitnesses and organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross corroborating fatal shootings at these locations[4].
These figures are consistent across multiple international media outlets, humanitarian organizations, and United Nations agencies.
# # Why These Reports Are Considered Trustworthy
Despite skepticism regarding casualty figures from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, there is substantial evidence supporting the reliability of their reporting:
- Independent Verification and Consistency: Multiple independent analyses, including studies by scholars at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, have found the Gaza Ministry of Health casualty counts to be reliable. These studies note that the mortality rates reported match those among UNRWA staff and that it would be difficult to fabricate large numbers of deaths in Gaza, one of the most surveilled places on earth[5].
- International Organizations’ Endorsement: The United Nations and most humanitarian organizations rely on Palestinian Ministry of Health figures, citing years of close cooperation and consistency between their own assessments and the ministry's numbers. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights both use these statistics as a baseline[6].
- Israeli Intelligence Assessment: Israeli intelligence services have studied the Gaza Ministry of Health’s casualty figures and concluded they are generally accurate. These figures have been accepted for inclusion in Israeli government briefings and are used by European intelligence services as well[7].
- Transparency and Cross-Checking: The Ministry of Health in Gaza publishes the names and ID numbers of the deceased, allowing for independent verification. NGOs like Airwars have cross-checked thousands of names and found that over 70% matched official lists, further supporting the credibility of the data[6].
“We have been working with the Palestinian Ministry of Health for many years, particularly during previous conflicts. Our assessments are very close to theirs, and in some cases, we even had higher figures.” — UN Human Rights spokesperson[6]
TLDR
There is robust, multi-sourced evidence that over 400 Palestinians have been killed near aid distribution sites in Gaza since the GHF began operations. The reported casualty figures, while originating from a Hamas-run ministry, are widely regarded as credible due to independent academic validation, endorsement by international organizations, and even confirmation by Israeli intelligence services. This convergence of evidence and transparency in reporting underpins the trustworthiness of the death tolls, despite the challenging context and political skepticism[1][6][5][7].
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