Gaza – Saba:
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has highlighted the harrowing experience of a Gaza aid survivor who recounted being forced to crawl for safety under heavy Israeli gunfire. UNRWA reiterated its urgent call for a resumption of safe and widespread aid delivery to the Gaza Strip.
The UN agency's statement comes as the Israeli enemy began implementing a new aid distribution plan on May 27, operating outside UN supervision through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Palestinians view this plan as an attempt to displace them from northern Gaza to the south.
Via its X account, UNRWA stated: "Hungry people were forced to crawl on the ground amid heavy gunfire, in a desperate attempt to secure food for their families, only to find themselves risking their lives and leaving with nothing." The agency emphasized, "We must return to the safe and widespread delivery of aid to all the people of Gaza. This can only be achieved through the United Nations, including UNRWA."
UNRWA's post included a testimony from a survivor who went to an aid distribution center in Rafah. He described the ordeal: "We went to the center at dawn and waited for the signal (from the Israeli army) to move. The shooting was nonstop. We crawled on the ground for more than an hour. When the shooting stopped, people jumped up and started running, but the shooting resumed, and many were injured while running... I have never seen anything like this before."
On Friday, the government media office in Gaza reported that the "Israeli enemy army" had killed 110 civilians and wounded 583 others while they were attempting to obtain food from the "American-Israeli aid" centers in southern Gaza since May 27. The office added that nine people remain missing after heading to these centers, which it described as "direct targets for starving civilians."
The office further stated that Israeli attacks continued into the first day of Eid al-Adha, resulting in eight Palestinian deaths and 61 injuries in Rafah due to direct Israeli fire. Last Sunday was reportedly the deadliest day for casualties, with 35 civilians killed and 200 injured in Rafah, and one killed and 32 injured near the Wadi Gaza Bridge. Two missing persons were also recorded.
Gaza has been under an 18-year blockade by the "Israeli enemy," and approximately 1.5 million Palestinians out of a population of 2.4 million have been displaced due to the war. The report concludes by stating that with American and European support, the "Israeli enemy army" has been committing "genocidal crimes" in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, leading to the "martyrdom" of 54,772 Palestinian citizens, predominantly children and women, and the injury of 125,834 others. These figures are preliminary, with thousands more victims reportedly still under rubble and on streets, inaccessible to rescue teams.
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