The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued to commit harrowing killings near aid distribution points established in areas under their full control in the Gaza Strip, in a deliberate attempt to turn these points into traps for death, humiliation, and the dehumanization of Palestinian civilians. The recurrence of such incidents demonstrates a deliberate and systematic pattern and reveals a mechanism aimed at targeting and killing the starving instead of providing relief to them.
Despite the daily killings and the alarming developments unfolding the role of the distribution points in exacerbating starvation, humiliation, and death, the IOF insist on continuing to implement this mechanism, as part of the ongoing crime of genocide. This takes place amid the international community’s silence, which serves as a cover for the continuation of this crime.
In one of the most recent incidents documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) staff, at around midnight on Tuesday, 24 June 2025, tens of thousands of starving people began gathering at the entrance to al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, awaiting the distribution of aid at the Netzarim checkpoint. At approximately 01:30, the people began to flock into the distribution point to receive the aid, but the IOF met them with gunfire and shells by tanks and quadcopter drones. As a result, 26 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured, including 60 in critical condition.
On the same day, the IOF opened heavy fire on thousands of starving people while they were on their way to the two aid distribution points established in western Rafah. As a result, 30 people were killed, while dozens more sustained various injuries. Eyewitnesses reported that the IOF also arrested many displaced people.
In a similar crime, at around 07:00 on Monday, 23 June 2025, the IOF opened heavy fire on thousands of starving people while heading to the two aid distribution points established by the IOF in al-Hashash and al-Sa’udi neighborhoods, northwest of Rafah. As a result, 12 people, including 3 children were killed, and many others sustained various injuries. Eyewitnesses reported that the IOF also arrested many displaced people.
At approximately 16:00 on Sunday, 22 June 2025, Israeli gunboats and tanks opened heavy fire on a group of Palestinians who were waiting for aid trucks arriving from the Zikim Crossing along the coastal street near al-Waha Resort, west of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. As a result, nine people, including a child, were killed, and others sustained injuries.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH), the IOF’s attacks on aid seekers have resulted in the killing of 516 people and injuring more than 3,799 others as of Tuesday morning. This has occurred since the IOF announced, on 27 May 2025, the implementation of an aid distribution mechanism through distribution points located in dangerous areas under their full control, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) established for this purpose, guarded by a private US security company, with the IOF stationed nearby.
PCHR stresses that it is unacceptable for the international community to continue watching the daily killings of starving people and tolerate this recurring and consistent pattern. Each time, thousands, and sometimes reaching tens of thousands, of civilians flock to the vicinity of aid distribution points, clinging to the hope of getting any food amid the unprecedented spread of starvation. This comes in the context of Israel’s continuous closure of crossings and its obstruction of aid entry via United Nations mechanisms since 02 March 2025. These desperate civilians find themselves under Israeli drone fire and artillery shells. Even those who manage to reach the distribution point surviving death or injury are forced to struggle and clash with other civilians over the limited and insufficient food supplies.
The continued daily killing of dozens of civilians, including women and children, by the IOF since the opening of these distribution points is part of the crime of genocide and must be halted immediately. The international community is urged to break its silence, which serves as a cover for this unjustified killing.
PCHR reiterates that these incidents confirm that the current aid distribution mechanism “flagrantly violates all humanitarian relief principles enshrined in international humanitarian law. It is, in itself, a degrading and humiliating conduct that strips Palestinian civilians of their dignity after enduring 20 months of systematic and deliberate starvation imposed by Israel in one of the most heinous collective crimes in modern history.
This Israeli mechanism fails to offer any effective solutions to end the catastrophic starvation; rather, it fosters an environment of chaos. It is also a deliberate step to sideline neutral humanitarian actors and international organizations, particularly the United Nations and its agencies, including UNRWA, aimed at undermining their mandate and crucial role in Gaza.
Given the above, PCHR calls on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to abolish this mechanism, which compels civilians to move into dangerous zones under full Israeli military control. PCHR further urges the resumption of aid entry and demands allowing the international organizations to distribute aid across areas of displacement while allowing the free and uninterrupted entry of goods.
PCHR urges 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.
