Flour with Drugs Found in Aid from Israel-Backed Gaza Group
GAZA: The Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has come under serious fire after Gaza’s government media office accused the group of distributing flour mixed with opioid drugs, specifically Oxycodone, to civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
In a statement released Friday, the media office said pills were found inside aid packages, and accused Israel of attempting to spread drug addiction and weaken Palestinian society from within.
“We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for this crime,” the statement read. “This aims to spread addiction and destroy Palestinian society from within.”
The explosive allegation follows a series of deadly incidents where Palestinians were killed while trying to collect food aid, sparking widespread outrage and renewed condemnation of Israel’s tactics in Gaza.
Photographs shared on Palestinian social media platforms appear to show white pills inside flour sacks distributed by the GHF. While the images cannot be independently verified, the claims have spread rapidly, adding fuel to public anger.
Medical Experts Confirm Presence of Opioids in Flour Sacks
Gaza-based pharmacists, including Omar Hamad, confirmed on social media that Oxycodone pills were found in at least four aid sacks delivered to Gaza. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Hamad warned of the drug’s potent effects.
“Oxycodone acts on specific receptors in the nervous system, causing severe addiction, decreased heart rate, impaired consciousness, and respiratory depression,” Hamad wrote. “Its side effects are numerous and can turn a person into a shell of who they once were.”
Oxycodone is a highly addictive opioid, commonly prescribed to patients suffering from post-surgical pain, injury trauma, or cancer. In conflict zones, its unregulated presence is especially dangerous due to a lack of medical oversight and addiction treatment resources.
Gaza’s anti-drug committee issued a public warning, referring to the aid centres as “death traps called US-Israeli aid centers” and urging residents to report any suspicious substances found in humanitarian packages.
Weaponization of Aid
Human rights groups and international observers have long accused Israel of weaponizing food aid in its conflict with Palestinians. This week, the United Nations condemned Tel Aviv for deliberately using starvation as a tactic, especially in a war zone where basic necessities are scarce.
The latest scandal involving the GHF only deepens the distrust. Since Israel allowed limited humanitarian access in late May, after months of blockade, GHF has been at the center of controversy — not only for aid site shootings, but now for allegedly distributing drug-laced food.
Prior to this, Israel had completely blocked aid entry into Gaza, using it as leverage in ongoing negotiations with Hamas. Critics say that opening GHF distribution centres while allegedly contaminating supplies shows a disturbing level of manipulation.
As international pressure mounts, Palestinian officials and activists are calling for an independent investigation into the aid distribution practices in Gaza. Meanwhile, the suffering on the ground continues, with reports confirming malnutrition-related deaths of dozens of children under Israel’s siege.
The use of food aid as a tool for psychological and physical warfare, if confirmed, would mark a dangerous precedent — and a clear violation of humanitarian law.
