Gaza – AFP

The spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, reported that 18 Palestinians, some of whom were waiting for aid, were killed on Saturday by Israeli army fire in various parts of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Basal said the agency recorded “at least 6 dead, including a child, and 30 injuries due to Israeli occupation forces targeting gatherings near an aid distribution point” managed by the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” south of Wadi Gaza Bridge in the central sector.

Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat camp confirmed the arrival of the dead and injured. In a later statement, Basal confirmed the death of “7 people including a woman by occupation forces’ fire near the aid center (belonging to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in northwest Rafah in the southern sector.”

In the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, the Civil Defense recorded “3 dead and injured in an Israeli drone strike on a tent sheltering displaced people.”

A woman was also killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting an apartment opposite Al-Khair Hospital in Khan Younis city, and a person was killed by a missile from an Israeli drone near Abu Hilo School, which shelters displaced people.

Eyewitnesses said that since dawn, several thousand gathered to receive food supplies around aid centers in the central sector and in the western Rafah and Khan Younis areas in the south.

– “Traps of death and humiliation”

Eyewitness Bayan Al-Agha (50 years old) confirmed that Israeli soldiers fired several times towards those waiting for aid. He said: “I went to the Shakoush area (near the aid center in northwest Rafah) and found Israeli army gunfire, then I went to the Tineh area (southwest Khan Younis) and several shots were fired at people and I got nothing.”

The man, who lives in a tent next to his destroyed home in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, wondered: “Does the world need more deaths due to hunger in Gaza to move to bring aid in a normal way through the United Nations? American aid centers have turned into traps of death and humiliation for Palestinians; people are forced to go to these centers because they have no other choice.”

Since it began operating in late May, daily reports have been received about those waiting for aid near the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” centers being targeted by Israeli forces’ fire.

The Israeli siege and restrictions on supplies entering Gaza since the war began nearly two years ago have led to shortages of food and essential supplies, including medicines and fuel needed by hospitals to operate their generators.

On Friday, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved wide-scale operations to control Gaza, sparking a wave of global anger.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 61,369 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.