At least 549 Palestinians have been killed trying to access aid since the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating four weeks ago, according to Gaza’s government media office, Al Jazeera reports.

The attacks at the “death traps”, the Gaza authority said in a statement, have also caused 4,066 injuries, and led to 39 missing people among starving Palestinian civilians.

“What is taking place at these so-called ‘centers’ constitutes a full-fledged war crime for which the Israeli occupation bears primary and direct responsibility.”

We strongly condemn this ongoing crime, wherein starving civilians are lured and then systematically and deliberately gunned down on a daily basis according to pre-set schedules.“

“The occupation is using food as a weapon of mass killing, turning what it claims to be ‘aid’ into a tool of extermination and domination,” Gaza’s government media office added.