The Death Trap of Israel's Aid Sites in Gaza: Drug-Laced Flour, Killings of Aid Seekers

CONTROVERSY continues to surround the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The aid distribution center, managed by Israel and the United States, has been accused of killing hundreds of aid seekers in Gaza.

Since late May, over 580 Palestinians have been reported dead near aid distribution points. Most recently, Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported that Israeli soldiers were instructed to deliberately fire at aid-seeking crowds. There are also reports of Israeli forces using aid trucks to infiltrate settlements, resulting in massacres like the Nuseirat incident in June 2024.

The list of GHF controversies grows longer with a serious accusation leveled by the Gaza authorities. GHF is said to have distributed drug-laced aid, with Oxycodone pills found in aid packages delivered to Gaza residents.

What is Oxycodone?

Oxycodone is a powerful opioid comparable to morphine, prescribed to alleviate severe pain in cases such as postoperative recovery, accidents, or cancer. However, the drug carries a high risk of addiction and serious side effects, including respiratory depression and impaired consciousness.

As reported by The New Arab, the Israeli- and U.S.-backed GHF faces serious allegations of mixing flour with opioid drugs, particularly oxycodone, in aid distributed to Palestinians in Gaza. These accusations arise amid the ongoing devastation and humanitarian crisis in the besieged region.

The Gaza government's media office said that oxycodone pills were found in aid packages, including flour sacks intended for distribution to the Palestinian population. They condemned this act as a deliberate effort by the Israeli occupation to foster addiction and disrupt Palestinian society from within.

The Gaza Anti-Drug Committee cautioned residents to be wary of these aid centers, labeling them as "death traps," and urged citizens to report any foreign substances found in aid packages. Palestinian residents have posted photos on social media showing pills found in aid packages.

This controversy adds to the long-standing allegations of the weaponization of humanitarian aid by Israel. The United Nations and various human rights organizations have condemned Israel for obstructing aid delivery and using food as a coercive tool.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted to arming criminal gangs accused of stealing aid and attacking aid convoys. Both Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant face arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, including the use of hunger as a weapon of war.

The alleged presence of drug-laced aid has sparked international outrage and calls for independent oversight of humanitarian operations in Gaza. Human rights groups have warned that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's operations may be deemed complicit in crimes under international law, including war crimes and genocide.

Since When Has Israel Manipulated Aid Delivery?

Historically, Israel has used food and humanitarian aid as deliberate tools of control and coercion against Palestinian residents, particularly in Gaza, effectively using starvation as a weapon to exert political and military pressure, Al Jazeera reported.

Since at least 1967, Israel has controlled the flow of food entering Gaza by managing border crossings and regulating the quantity and types of food allowed, often reducing supplies during periods of heightened conflict or political tension.

This control expanded to quantifying and restricting the permitted calorie intake into Gaza, using food scarcity as a method to pressure Palestinians into making concessions.

Since March 2025, Israel has enforced a "total blockade" in Gaza, cutting off essential supplies including food, water, fuel, and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinian residents. This blockade has caused severe food shortages, widespread malnutrition, and conditions resembling starvation, with many children dying from hunger or treatable diseases exacerbated by the lack of medical aid.

Israeli officials systematically obstruct the entry of humanitarian aid, using the denial of food and medical supplies as collective punishment and a means to weaken resistance in Gaza.

How Has Israel Applied This Inhumane Strategy?

Blockades and aid restrictions have been enforced through rigorous inspections at border crossing points such as Rafah and Kerem Shalom, where food trucks face arbitrary delays and entry refusals, exacerbating food and supply shortages. Israeli military operations have also destroyed Gaza's agricultural infrastructure, including greenhouses, fruit orchards, and fishing boats, crippling local food production and deepening reliance on limited aid.

Netanyahu and Gallant have openly supported these tactics, with Gallant explicitly vowing to enforce a "total blockade." Netanyahu and Gallant face arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for war crimes related to the use of hunger as a weapon of war.

According to Human Rights Watch, this strategy aims not only to inflict direct suffering but also to facilitate broader goals such as ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

International organizations, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), have condemned Israel's blockade and weaponization of food. They have described it as collective punishment, which violates international law and worsens the humanitarian disaster engulfing the devastated enclave.

The continuous rejection and manipulation of aid contribute to a man-made crisis threatening the survival and dignity of Gaza's residents. Israel has made food scarcity a key element in its destruction of the civilian population of Palestine.

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