The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued to kill starving Palestinians near aid distribution points established in areas under their control, turning these points into sites of death and humiliation. These acts occur as part of the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, now in its twentieth consecutive month.

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) researchers’ field documentation, at approximately 18:00 on Monday, 02 June 2025, thousands of displaced people started flocking into al-Mawasi area in western Rafah via al-Rashid coastal street. They waited until the next morning, Tuesday 03 June 2025, to reach the aid distribution point established by the IOF near the under-construction Hamad Ibn Khalifa Hospital on Abu Baker al-Seddiq Street in Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, southwest of Rafah. Most of the displaced people, including women and children, had come from central Gaza Strip and Gaza City and remained in the area until dawn. Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats and helicopters opened heavy fire around them on al-Rashid coastal street. At around 04:30, the displaced crowds began moving towards al-‘Alam Square via al-Rashid coastal street in an attempt to reach the distribution point. At that time, Israeli military vehicles and quadcopter drones opened fire at them, killing 27 displaced people, including two women, and injuring around 90 others. Those killed and injured were transported by animal-drawn carts to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Field Hospital in al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah, before being referred to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis.

Mohanad Ahmed Mohammed Qishta (31), a freelance journalist and an activist, said to PCHR’s researcher:

“ At approximately 04:20 on Tuesday, my relatives, friends, and I left the Water Well ‘19’ area in al-Mawasi area in Khan Yunis towards the al-Mawasi area in Rafah. We arrived there at around 04:45 and stood near al-Akwakh Resort to find al-Rashid coastal street overcrowded, amid sound of  gunfire from Israeli gunboats and an Apache helicopter that was hovering overhead. At approximately 05:00, many displaced persons began moving toward al-‘Alam Square via al-Rashid coastal street in an attempt to reach the Israeli aid distribution point. Meanwhile, Israeli tanks and quadcopter drones opened fire on some of them. I saw injured people being transferred from al-‘Alam Square to the ICRC Field Hospital via animal-drawn carts, wheelchairs, and bicycles. At around 05:30, I managed to reach the aid distribution point near Hamad Hospital between al-Mawasi area and Tal al-Sultan neighborhood. The distribution point was almost empty of parcels, as a large number of people had arrived before us and took the parcels that had been placed on wooden platforms in the distribution point yard. I did not stay long at the site and quietly took videos and photos using my mobile phone, trying not to attract attention. I then headed to the ICRC field hospital on al-Rashid coastal street in al-Mawasi area in Rafah, where I saw two ambulances transporting 15 people killed to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.”

In a similar crime, at approximately 04:30 on Monday, 02 June 2025, the IOF opened fire at many displaced people in the vicinity of al-‘Alam Square in al-Mawasi area, west of Rafah, while they were heading to the aid distribution point established by the IOF in Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, southwest of Rafah. As a result, three starving displaced people were killed, while 35 others sustained various injuries.

Since the IOF opened the aid distribution points on 27 May 2025, about 100 people have been killed, and around 500 others have been injured.

PCHR emphasizes that the IOF’s insistence on maintaining this deadly aid distribution mechanism- despite the chaos it has inflicted and the consistent pattern of daily casualties and injuries- clearly indicates that the IOF do not intend to provide aid to Gaza’s starving population. Rather, they aim to turn this mechanism into traps of death, humiliation, and dehumanization of Palestinian civilians, who have endured months of unprecedented levels of deliberate starvation.

PCHR affirms that the current aid distribution system has even failed to meet the bare minimum humanitarian standards. It relies on an ineffective and chaotic mechanism; according to which, insufficient food supplies enter into dangerous areas under the Israeli fire control and then thousands of starving civilians are called to come under extremely dangerous conditions only having 3 choices: to be killed by snipers or in airstrikes, to return empty-handed with no food or to take part into a humiliating fight with tens of other starving civilians to obtain a food parcel that does not even suffice for one day.

PCHR emphasizes that the distribution mechanism offers no real solution to the crisis that is ravaging the Gaza Strip population but gives Israel a false legitimacy to entrench the criminal policy of starvation as a weapon of war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. It also allows the continuous exploitation of relief and aid to blackmail the population and maintain control over their daily lives and essentials of their survival.

In light of this, PCHR urges the international community to exert pressure on Israel to abolish this mechanism that requires civilians to move to dangerous areas under IOF’s control, to resume aid entry and allow the international organizations to distribute aid across areas of displacement in addition to allowing the free and uninterrupted entry of goods.

PCHR condemns opening fire on civilians, calling upon the international community, including the UN Member States, to fulfil their legal and humanitarian responsibilities and take immediate action to pressure Israel to stop the ongoing crime of genocide, reopen Gaza’s border crossings and resume the unrestricted, immediate and widescale entry of humanitarian aid under the supervision of the UN and its specialized agencies, free from any military or political interference.