UN experts: Israel using aid as a tool for enforced disappearances in Gaza

UN human rights experts warned on Tuesday of reliable reports that Israeli occupation forces have carried out individual and mass enforced disappearances linked to the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

In an official statement, the experts said they are “deeply concerned by growing testimony that Israeli forces are using aid distribution centres run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and others as cover to arrest civilians and forcibly disappear them.”

The statement added: “We urge Israel to stop these brutal practices immediately, and to desist from using food and basic supplies as a weapon against civilians who are living in catastrophic humanitarian conditions.”

The experts said Israeli forces have been heavily present around aid distribution points, where arbitrary arrests and the taking of people to unknown locations have been documented, in a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.

They said exploiting civilians’ need for food and medicine to carry out enforced disappearances amounts to a crime against humanity, and called on the international community to act urgently to halt these abuses and ensure aid reaches those entitled to it safely.