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Rabat – Israeli forces have killed more than 100 Palestinians and injured around 460 in the past eight days while they were trying to get food from aid distribution points in Rafah, southern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
Officials and eyewitnesses are accusing Israeli forces of targeting the heads and chests of starving civilians at sites set up to provide humanitarian aid.
The aid points were located in western Rafah, a zone previously declared by Israel as a “safe humanitarian area.” But civil defence teams and witnesses say these locations have turned into “death traps,” with Israeli forces opening fire on crowds of people trying to collect food.
Many of the victims were shot while holding food parcels, including women trying to feed their families, said Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary. Doctors say most of the injuries were to the head, chest, and upper body, suggesting that people were deliberately targeted.
Doctors at the Nasser Hospital said that many of the injured are being treated in intensive care, as the facility is running out of blood units and essential medical supplies.
One of the survivors, 30-year-old Rania al-Astal, told AFP that she went with her husband to collect food early in the morning. “The shooting began around 5 am. Every time people approached Al-Alam roundabout, they were fired upon,” she said.
Another witness, 44-year-old Mohammed al-Shaer, said that at first, Israeli soldiers fired into the air, but then they started shooting directly at people. “A helicopter and quadcopters [drones] started firing at the crowd to prevent them from approaching the tank barrier. There were injuries and deaths,” he added.
Israeli attacks on civilians near US-backed aid distribution centers have drawn international condemnation. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the killing of over 100 Palestinians is deeply concerning.
“Can you imagine someone who is so desperate for food that they are making this trek over a long distance, and the fear that they must have – that they could even be shot or that they may even come back with no food?” Laurence told Al Jazeera.
He said that attacking civilians is a grave breach of international law and may be considered a war crime.
The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which oversees some of the aid efforts, has not commented on the accusations. However, local officials are calling for urgent international intervention to protect civilians and ensure safe delivery of food and medical aid.
