Doctors in Gaza are giving their own blood to save patients after deadly chaos broke out during food aid distributions. The international charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that Palestinian patients are too weak and undernourished to donate blood themselves. In one MSF-run hospital, staff lined up to donate as scores of injured people arrived with life-threatening wounds.
“These attacks have killed dozens,” said Stephen Cornish, Director General of MSF Switzerland. “People were left to bleed out on the ground because even the basic infrastructure to help them is gone.”
Cornish emphasized that the wounded are victims of an aid delivery system that lacks protection and dignity. “If you’re fearing for your life, running with packages and being mowed down, that’s beyond everything we’ve ever seen,” he told Reuters.
Protests Erupt Outside UN Headquarters in Geneva
Around 100 MSF staff members held a protest on Thursday outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. They demanded urgent international intervention and condemned the Israeli-backed system of food distribution in Gaza. Protesters held banners calling for safe, dignified humanitarian access.
MSF accused the private company running the aid deliveries—authorized by Israel—of creating chaotic and unsafe conditions. Since Israel began blocking all supplies into Gaza in March, humanitarian groups have faced enormous hurdles in reaching civilians.
“We are calling on the world to see this for what it is,” said Cornish. “This is a breakdown not just of health care but of humanity.”
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Over 100 Killed, Hundreds Wounded in Just Days
Gaza health authorities say 102 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 500 injured in the first eight days of aid distribution. Most of the deaths occurred at distribution points where desperate civilians gathered for food.
Eyewitnesses report that Israeli troops fired directly at the crowds. The Israeli military blamed Hamas, claiming its fighters opened fire and caused panic. But on Tuesday—when 27 people died—the military admitted its own troops shot at “suspects” who approached their positions.
Videos from the scenes show people collapsing as gunfire erupts. Others try to carry wounded civilians away while bullets fly overhead. In several instances, rescuers themselves were hit while attempting to help.
“The way these distributions are happening is a death trap,” said one aid worker in Rafah, speaking anonymously for safety reasons. “People are starving. They’re taking huge risks just for food.”
Aid System Under Fire as Sanctions Add Tension
The incident adds to growing international tension surrounding the war in Gaza and the conduct of aid operations. The U.S. administration under President Donald Trump recently imposed sanctions on four judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The sanctions came in response to the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and for probing U.S. conduct in Afghanistan.
MSF and other humanitarian groups see the move as a blow to accountability efforts in Gaza. “We are losing the last avenues of justice and oversight,” said Cornish. “Meanwhile, civilians are paying the price every day.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the private group managing the food aid deliveries with Israeli approval, has not commented on the deaths. Critics argue that Israel’s outsourcing of aid distribution to a private actor has made the situation even more volatile and disorganized.
International calls for safe, neutral, and well-regulated aid access are growing louder. The World Health Organization has also warned that the near-total collapse of Gaza’s health system is placing thousands at risk of death from wounds, disease, and hunger.
