Israel Lures Starving Gazans to Aid Points, Then Opens Fire: Euro-Med
Gaza (Quds News Network)- Israeli forces killed seven Palestinian civilians in just 24 hours while they tried to collect food aid in southern Gaza, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said Wednesday. Among the victims were a woman and a child. At least 15 others were injured.
The organization stated that the Israeli army directs hungry civilians to aid points in Rafah and then targets them with gunfire and shells. These acts, Euro-Med said, turn food aid into a weapon of war.
According to the monitor, Israeli forces told Palestinians to go to a distribution point in the “Morag” area north of Rafah. Once there, soldiers allowed some to receive food under humiliating conditions. Others were fired at and killed.
The six Palestinians killed on May 28 were identified as Kifah Odeh Al-Sawarka, Zuhair Zuwaid Al-Shaer, Mohammad Emad Abdelhadi, Khalil Anwar Khalil Abu Mousa, his brother Ashraf Anwar Khalil Abu Mousa, and his son Khalil Ashraf Abu Mousa.
Another Palestinian, Salem Atta Salem Abu Mousa, died from wounds he sustained a day earlier during a similar aid-seeking attempt in Tel Al-Sultan, Rafah. Fifty others were injured in that incident. Seven people remain missing; two are feared dead.
Euro-Med said Israel used text messages to invite people to the aid location. Once civilians arrived, soldiers used the opportunity to humiliate and harm them. The distribution center in Morag was heavily guarded and located in a dangerous area, without clear safety routes.
Field reports documented hundreds of civilians gathering in “Qizan Abu Rashwan” area of southern Khan Younis, heading to Morag. Israeli gunfire hit the crowd, causing multiple casualties.
Euro-Med described the distribution process as degrading. People were forced to walk long distances to fenced areas under heavy surveillance. Once inside, they were herded through narrow corridors to receive limited food parcels.
The food packages lacked basic nutrition, including items for children like milk or therapeutic food. “These parcels are more propaganda tools than real humanitarian aid,” Euro-Med said.
The monitor also reported that the aid system is managed by a US company created by Israel and protected by Israeli and American private forces. This structure, it said, violates humanitarian principles and serves political and military goals rather than saving lives.
Thousands of desperate Palestinians are being pushed toward aid points in central and southern Gaza. Euro-Med said this is part of a strategy to displace northern residents and impose strict Israeli control over Gaza’s food supply.
The group warned that Israel’s aid mechanism amounts to a system of starvation and forced displacement. It also criticized the international community for allowing Israel to control aid while committing genocide.
Euro-Med called for an immediate end to Israel’s aid distribution system and a return to the former UN-led mechanism. It urged world powers to pressure Israel to allow unrestricted and safe humanitarian access to Gaza.
The monitor said any state or group supporting Israel’s current aid system is complicit in the suffering. It demanded global sanctions, including arms embargoes, asset freezes, and bans on Israeli military companies.
“This is not a humanitarian response,” Euro-Med stated. “It’s the continuation of a systematic policy to starve, humiliate, and erase the Palestinian people.”
