The latest attack, in the southern Gaza Strip, killed more than 50 people and wounded hundreds. Israel continues to use hunger as a weapon against Palestinians.
The Israeli army opened fire on civilians queuing for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, causing a massacre. It happened near a food distribution point in Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian territory. The toll stands at at least 51 dead and hundreds wounded. Almost all casualties in the Gaza Strip over the past few days have been caused by attacks during food distribution carried out by the Israeli army, which continues to strike the Palestinian people in parallel with its attacks on Iran.
On 16 June thousands of Palestinians were queuing along a road in Khan Younis, where a flour distribution point is located. According to several witnesses, the Israeli army at some point began firing on the crowd, and shortly afterwards shots were also fired from tanks, causing powerful explosions.
"Israeli drones opened fire on people queuing for flour. A few minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several rounds, causing a large number of deaths and injuries," denounced Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Civil Defence. The provisional toll stands at more than 50 dead and hundreds wounded. People were rushed to Nasser hospital, one of the last still operational in the Gaza Strip brought to its knees by the Israeli siege and total blockade, which is however unable to accommodate all the wounded. Many people are being treated on the ground.
After more than two months of blocking humanitarian aid, since late May Israel has taken control of food distribution in the Gaza Strip through an ad hoc body, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The new Israeli aid distribution system has proved inefficient from the outset, to the point that the UN and other humanitarian organisations have distanced themselves from it. And it uses hunger as a weapon against the Palestinian people.
Almost all casualties in Gaza over the past few days have been caused by attacks by the Israeli army during humanitarian aid deliveries. "There is a constant correlation between the locations of the four announced food distribution sites and the Israeli attacks causing casualties," stressed Thanos Gargavanis, of the World Health Organization. The Israeli army justified these attacks by saying it had warned people not to approach and had opened fire in response to behaviour it described as "suspicious". Regarding the latest massacre, it said that an internal investigation has been launched.
