The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest terms the horrible crime committed this morning by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in al-Sa’oudi neighborhood, northwest of Rafah. The attack killed 27 civilians, including children, and injured 180 others; most of them sustained injuries in the head and chest, in a deliberate assault while they were waiting to receive food parcels.

This crime is part of a systematic and repeated pattern of willful killings, using “aid distribution centers” as traps for mass killings. These centers are run by the IOF, operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and guarded by a private U.S. security company. The IOF provide protection for these centers under the direct supervision of military units that deploy snipers and use heavy machine guns to forcibly disperse starving civilians with lethal force, despite being fully aware of the catastrophic humanitarian conditions and severe malnutrition affecting the population in Gaza.

In this context, PCHR’s Director, lawyer Raji al-Sourani, says:

“Once again, the so-called humanitarian aid distribution centers have proven to be nothing more than sites for distributing death to starving civilians in the Gaza Strip. These centers have turned into tools of mass humiliation, repression, and killings, under a false guise of humanitarian work. They have never been a means of survival; rather, they have become a stark symbol of the complete moral collapse of the IOF and their international partners, who continue to legitimize the killing and starvation of civilians as part of the crime of genocide ongoing for over 21 months.”

According to eyewitnesses’ testimonies and information collected by PCHR’s staff, at around 09:55 on Saturday, 12 July 2025, IOF opened heavy fire on thousands of starving people while they were waiting for the opening of the Israeli-American aid distribution center in al-Sa’oudi neighborhood, northwest of Rafah. As a result, 27 people, including children, were killed, while 180 others were injured, most of them sustained serious injuries.

In his testimony to PCHR’s staff, Mohammed Mohammed al-Zaytouna (34) said:

“On Friday, my brother Mahmoud (33) and I came from our residential area in Gaza City and headed to the al-Mawasi area in Rafah. We slept on al-Rashid Street near Mo’awiyia Mosque. At dawn on Saturday, we went to the aid distribution center near al-Mohararat Street, northwest of Rafah, to obtain bags of flour. At around 09:55 while we, along with hundreds of others, were waiting and taking cover in pits and behind cement cubes or electricity poles, my brother was shot with a live bullet that penetrated his forehead and exited the back of his head, killing him immediately. Seven others nearby were injured; two of them succumbed to their head injuries. The three bodies were transported by a donkey-drawn cart to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)’s Field Hospital in the al-Mawasi area in Rafah and then taken by an ambulance to the morgue at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis.”

Hasan Mazen Hasan al-Sha’ier (28), from Khan Yunis, said to PCHR’s staff:

“At around 09:00, some of my neighbors and I arrived at al-Mohararat Street near al-Eqlimiy Park in al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis to reach the aid distribution center, northwest of Rafah, and obtain an aid parcel. While waiting for the center to open, which was about 500 meters from where we were, lying on the ground and taking cover in pits with hundreds of others, we heard someone saying that the aid center had opened. Hundreds then stood up and ran toward the center. At that moment, three military tanks stationed about 300 meters away opened fire on the crowd, injuring dozens. I saw a man shot with a live bullet in the back of his head. When I approached, I could recognize him. He was Mamdouh ‘Adnan Mahmoud Abu ‘Ayiah (Zu’rub) (32) who immediately succumbed to his injury. He was transported by a tuk-tuk, along with other injured, to the ICRC Field Hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah before being taken to the morgue at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis.”

Child Mohammed Sami Khalil Dahleez (16), from Rafah, said to PCHR’s staff:

“At approximately 08:30, some of my relatives, neighbors, and I left the area where we are seeking refuge near al-Eqlimy Park in the al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis and headed toward the aid distribution center near al-Mohararat (al-Shakoush) Street in al-Sa’oudi neighborhood, northwest of Rafah.  At around 09:55, while we were waiting for the center to open, I saw three military tanks stationed about 500 meters away from the area where we were. Meanwhile, one of the tanks moved, so one of the people thought it was a signal that the center had opened, so many of them stood up and ran toward the aid center. At that moment, the tanks opened heavy fire on them. Simultaneously, Israeli soldiers stationed in military watchtowers near the aid center also opened fire on people hiding in a pit about 500 meters away from the center. As a result, many were injured, including my relative Firas Osama ‘Abed al-Hameed Fojou (16), who was shot with a live bullet in his abdomen. I, along with other young men, carried him and placed him, along with five other injured, on a donkey-drawn cart that transported them to the ICRC Field Hospital in the al-Mawasi area in Rafah, where doctors pronounced him dead. Then, Firas’s body and others were transported by an ambulance to the morgue at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis.”

Today’s crime is not an isolated incident but part of an apparent and repeated pattern: the announcement of aid distribution points draws thousands of starving civilians, only for Israeli tanks, snipers, and soldiers stationed nearby to open heavy fire on them.

Since 27 May 2025, the total number of civilian casualties near these so-called aid distribution centers used as deadly traps has reached 805 killed and over 5,252 injured, the majority of whom are women, children, and the elderly

PCHR warns of the international complicity in these crimes, particularly the growing role of the U.S. through its funding and support of the GHF, which operates these centers, as well as contracting with private security companies to provide protection for these centers. These companies are suspected of direct involvement in killings, intimidation and violating human dignity. Thus, these actors bear criminal responsibility under international law.

The use of humanitarian aid as a tool for systematic killings amounts to both a war crime and crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It also falls within the framework of using starvation as a method of warfare, which is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.  All of these are part of broader policy of engineered starvation serving as a weapon of war and a tool to commit the gravest of crimes, the crime of genocide, against the Palestinian people.

Given the above, PCHR reiterates its call for the immediate cessation of these aid distribution centers operating in areas under the IOF’s control.  PCHR also demands the suspension of the operations of GHF, which has turned into tools for killings and calls for the accountability of all those responsible.

PCHR also calls for the inclusion of the Israeli and American officials responsible for these centers on international prosecution lists.

PCHR warns that turning a blind eye on these crimes is direct complicity in their commission and encourages Israel to continue committing mass killings the false pretext of ‘humanitarian relief.’ PCHR emphasizes that justice for victims can never be achieved without international accountability and prosecution of all those who gave orders, facilitated the means or concealed these crimes.

PCHR reiterates its urgent call to the international community to take immediate action to stop the genocide, ensure effective protection for civilians, and secure safe corridors for the safe, equitable, and dignified delivery of humanitarian aid. PCHR warns if the world will not act now, more children and women will be killed, and more blood of innocent people will be unjustifiably shed.