DaysofPal – In a chilling escalation of Israel’s war on Gaza, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire early Monday on starving civilians gathered near an American aid distribution point in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. The attack left at least 20 Palestinians dead and more than 200 injured, including 50 in critical condition.
According to a statement from the Gaza Ministry of Health, the massacre is part of a growing pattern of attacks on civilians seeking humanitarian aid. The wounded were transported to the Red Cross field hospital in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, which itself came under gunfire from Israeli military vehicles, putting patients and medical staff in immediate danger.
“In continuation of the massacres committed by the occupation against citizens heading to aid centers, the hospital has received a preliminary toll of 20 martyrs and over 200 injuries,” the ministry stated.
The ministry condemned what it called the deliberate targeting of hospitals and civilians, urging international bodies to intervene immediately. It called for the reopening of the European Gaza Hospital, which has been forced to close due to the overwhelming number of casualties and ongoing attacks.
It also demanded that new aid distribution mechanisms be implemented to prevent further loss of life, calling on all humanitarian organizations to ensure the safety of medical teams and facilities in the Strip.
Pattern of Attacks on Aid Seekers
The massacre is the latest in a series of deadly assaults on aid distribution points in both Rafah and central Gaza. Just a day prior, the Government Media Office reported that 300 Palestinians had been killed and 2,649 injured since May 27 during attempts to reach so-called “American-Israeli mechanism” aid zones. Nine people remain missing.
On March 18, Israel resumed its full-scale offensive after tearing up a 58-day ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. The renewed attacks have targeted both civilians and relief infrastructure, deepening the humanitarian catastrophe.
Genocide and Starvation as Tactics
Since the war began on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed or injured nearly 180,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children. Over 11,000 remain missing, and hundreds of thousands have been forcibly displaced. The blockade has pushed the Gaza Strip into famine, with widespread starvation and critical shortages of food, water, and medicine.
A Call for Accountability
The Gaza Health Ministry and civil society groups are now calling on the international community to act immediately to stop what they describe as a deliberate, genocidal war, accusing Israel of using starvation and targeted attacks on aid recipients as instruments of control and collective punishment.
With hospitals collapsing and civilians dying in line for food, the Gaza Strip stands at the edge of annihilation—its suffering amplified by the world’s silence.
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