Gaza - Saba:
Twenty-seven Palestinians were killed and more than 90 others were injured this morning, Tuesday, as a result of Israeli shelling and gunfire targeting thousands of people heading to an aid center west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli artillery and aircraft fired shells and machine guns at displaced people waiting for aid near a humanitarian aid distribution point near the Al-Alam roundabout, west of Rafah. This resulted in the deaths of at least 27 civilians and the injury of more than 90 others, according to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA).
In the same context, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that dozens of Palestinians were killed at aid distribution sites supported by the United States and Israel.
The organization noted that dozens were killed and injured yesterday while waiting to receive food from distribution centers, stressing that these incidents demonstrate the danger of the new aid distribution system and its significant lack of humanity and effectiveness.
The organization noted that with blood banks running low, the medical team itself was forced to donate blood to treat the wounded. It emphasized that the use of humanitarian aid as a weapon in this manner could constitute a crime against humanity.
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazaryny, said that the new aid distribution mechanism is a "death trap" in Gaza. Israel must lift the blockade and allow the United Nations safe access to deliver and distribute aid into the Strip.
He added that allowing the UN to distribute aid is the only way to avoid a mass famine in Gaza, including one million children. He stressed that international media must be allowed into Gaza to independently cover the ongoing atrocities.
He stated that the new aid distribution system, which limits aid distribution to three or four distribution areas, forces residents to travel long distances to receive aid, while we previously distributed aid through 400 points. He noted that 310 UNRWA staff members were killed during the war in Gaza.
| more of (International) |