DaysofPal – At least 10 Palestinians were killed and over 60 wounded on Friday after Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a crowd of people desperately waiting for food aid in the Al-Shakoush area of Rafah, southern Gaza.
According to eyewitnesses and local health officials, the victims had gathered near the GHF aid center, the only operational distribution point still functioning in the city, when chaos erupted.
Panic swept through the crowd after shots were fired by Israeli snipers, reportedly followed by additional fire from private security contractors working alongside the Israeli military to disperse the crowd.
“They opened fire on people who were just trying to feed their children,” said one witness, his voice trembling as he stood outside the Nasser Hospital, where the dead and wounded were rushed for treatment.
“There was screaming, blood everywhere. People were running and falling. It was a massacre.”
Medical teams at Nasser Hospital issued urgent appeals for blood donations as waves of injured civilians arrived. Many of the wounded had been shot in the legs, back, and chest, consistent with reports of snipers targeting the crowd.
Locals say this isn’t an isolated incident. Aid seekers have been shot at near food distribution sites before, but desperation keeps drawing people back. “We know the risk, but we have no choice,” said Umm Ibrahim, a mother of four. “Either we die of hunger, or we risk being shot trying to get food.”
The tragedy in Rafah was not the only attack reported on Friday. In the north of the Gaza Strip, five Palestinians were wounded when an Israeli drone dropped bombs near the Al-Nazla roundabout. The day’s total death toll across Gaza has now reached at least 15, according to medical sources.
These latest killings are part of a clear Israeli strategy of inflicting maximum harm on a starving civilian population. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that since the beginning of the war in October 2023, at least 57,680 Palestinians have been killed, with over 137,409 wounded.
Thousands more remain buried under the rubble, unreachable due to continued Israeli bombardment and the collapse of emergency services.
In Rafah, the once-busy streets have turned into ghost corridors of grief and fear. Outside the GHF aid center, a pair of bloodied shoes lies in the dirt, abandoned in the chaos. A torn aid bag flutters in the wind, a haunting symbol of survival turned slaughter.
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