UN experts reveal ‘Israel’ involved in forced disappearances of starving Palestinians

UN rights experts voiced alarm Thursday at reports of "enforced disappearances" of starving Palestinians seeking food at distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, urging ‘Israel’ to end the "heinous crime".

Read more: 'Israel' demands UN monitor to retract Gaza famine report

The seven independent experts said in a joint statement they had received reports that a number of individuals, including one child, had been "forcibly disappeared" after visiting aid distribution sites in Rafah.

‘Israel's’ military was reportedly "directly involved in the enforced disappearances of people seeking aid", they added.

The allegations center on individuals who have gone missing after visiting distribution centers operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American nonprofit backed by the US and ‘Israeli’ governments.

The UN experts' statements and reports from human rights organizations detail incidents that they say meet the international legal definition of enforced disappearance, which requires the deprivation of liberty by a state actor followed by a refusal to provide information on the person's fate or whereabouts.

Humanitarian organizations, including Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Defense for Children International - Palestine, have documented specific cases of individuals who have vanished.

These include five boys between the ages of 12 and 16 who disappeared while seeking aid in northern Gaza. In some cases, the ‘Israeli’ army has acknowledged the detention of individuals but has refused to disclose their location, placing them in "incommunicado detention," a key component of the crime of enforced disappearance.

The crisis is exacerbated by a "man-made" famine in Gaza, according to the UN Human Rights Chief, who attributes it to a deliberate policy of restricting aid and destroying essential infrastructure.

Seeking food has become a "deadly pursuit" , with over 2,000 Palestinians, predominantly young men and boys, killed since a new militarized aid distribution system began operations on May 27.

The UN Human Rights Office reports that most of these killings appear to have been committed by the ‘Israeli’ military, with witnesses describing gunfire from snipers, drones, and helicopters.

The UN and other aid groups have criticized the GHF as a "militarized aid scheme" that operates without humanitarian principles and puts lives at risk.