Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire on civilians gathered near its GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) site in Rafah, southern Gaza again yesterday, killing at least one elderly woman and injuring several other Palestinians.
The murdered victim was 65-year-old Kifah Odeh Suleiman al-Sawarka, who was fatally shot in Miraj area south of Khan Younis, when IOF soldiers fired at a crowd waiting in desperation for humanitarian aid.
The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) condemned the new US-backed GHF aid model in Gaza, calling it a ‘distraction from atrocities’ taking place there.
‘We have seen yesterday the shocking images of hungry people pushing against fences, desperate for food. It was chaotic, undignified and unsafe,’ UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told reporters.
The GHF announced yesterday afternoon that it has temporarily halted aid distribution in Gaza due to disorder.
Dozens of civilians had assembled on Al-Alam Street, where aid had been distributed the previous day.
This followed the deadly attack on Tuesday, when IOF forces targeted another aid centre in Rafah, killing three civilians, injuring 46, and leaving seven others missing.
These centres are located within so-called ‘buffer zones’ established by the Israeli occupation military.
The Gaza Government Media Office (GMO) yesterday described the IOF attacks as a deliberate massacre of civilians who had been lured to the area by promises of food distribution.
‘This was a war crime committed in cold blood against hungry, besieged civilians,’ the Office stated, adding that the residents of Gaza have endured more than 90 consecutive days of starvation since the complete closure of border crossings, and nearly 20 months of an escalating genocide.
The Office condemned the Israeli policy of using aid distribution as a tool for forced displacement and population control.
‘The creation of so-called buffer zones and forced assembly sites amid a backdrop of hunger and death is not humanitarian aid – it is a form of collective punishment,’ the GMO stated.
It further emphasised that the situation on the ground reveals the failure of the Israeli aid distribution model.
International experts, Hebrew media outlets, and human rights observers have noted the chaos and violence erupting in these areas as hungry civilians, driven by desperation, are met with live ammunition instead of relief.
‘The occupation bears full responsibility for the humanitarian catastrophe it has orchestrated through siege, starvation, bombing, and destruction,’ the statement added.
Citing Article 2 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the GMO reaffirmed its stance that the events in Rafah constitute part of the ongoing act of genocide.
It stressed that the establishment of ‘buffer zones’ and forced assembly lines amid the threat of death and starvation does not reflect genuine humanitarian intentions, but rather embodies a racist political strategy aimed at dismantling Palestinian society, perpetuating its suffering, and providing a false humanitarian cover for the Israeli security and military agendas.
• See editorial
