In Gaza, queues for food turn into mass graves and ‘aid distribution points’ become death traps

In a scene that encapsulates the tragedy in its harshest form, ‘humanitarian aid distribution points’ in the Gaza Strip have turned into open killing fields. In broad daylight on 21 May, among crowds of hungry and desperate civilians, dozens of people were killed and more than 340 others were wounded, most of them children, women and older people, by Israel occupation forces. There have been multiple other massacres, too.

They were not fighters, nor were they armed, but ordinary citizens, driven to the queues by hunger and the suffocating siege.

Bullets on flour in Gaza

In the south of the Gaza Strip, where the tragedy is worsening day by day, thousands of citizens gathered at one of the aid distribution points announced by an American organisation.

Families had been waiting since dawn, hoping to get a bag of flour or a ready-made meal to satisfy their hunger. But the occupation soldiers stationed around the point suddenly and directly opened fire without warning, turning the moment from waiting for life into an open massacre.

Eyewitnesses described a horrific scene: bodies on the ground, screams and cries for help, and blood mixed with flour.

One survivor told the Canary:

We were standing in an orderly manner, there were no signs of violence, when suddenly bullets started raining down on us. The people in front of me fell, and those who could fled… We left the wounded behind because anyone who tried to help them was also shot.

From a relief point to a death trap

According to Canary sources on the ground, this was not the first incident of its kind. For days, there have been repeated attacks on aid points that are supposed to be under international protection and guarantees.

According to human rights organisations, these incidents are not random mistakes, but a ‘deliberate approach’ that aims to use hunger and psychological humiliation as weapons of war.

A clear war crime by Israel

International human rights organisations have described the massacre as a ‘documented war crime,’ calling for an independent international investigation and guarantees for the protection of civilians in conflict zones, especially at aid distribution points and civilian facilities.

A statement by Human Rights Watch said:

Opening fire on civilians in an aid queue shows blatant disregard for the laws of war, and those responsible must be held accountable.

The numbers speak for themselves… but the silence is louder:

• 52 martyrs in just a few days at a single distribution point.
• 340 wounded, including children in critical condition.
• More than 70% of Gaza’s population is threatened with starvation, according to UN reports.
• 90% of health facilities are out of service.
• More than 35,000 martyrs since the start of the war, most of them civilians.

Gaza cries out… and no one answers

The latest massacre is not a passing event, but a new episode in a series of systematic slow killings. The martyrs fell in hunger queues, not on battlefields, and humanitarian aid has turned from an opportunity for survival into a trap for mass murder.

Featured image via the Canary