The Hamas Movement has strongly condemned what it described as a “sadistic and brutal act” by Israeli occupation forces after Al Jazeera broadcast harrowing footage of an Israeli drone targeting a Palestinian civilian carrying a sack of flour on his back in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City.

The chilling video, aired on Sunday, shows a young man walking alone in the devastated streets of northern Shuja’iyya, visibly weak but hopeful with a bag of flour—a rare and life-saving item amid a suffocating siege. Moments later, he is struck by a missile fired from an Israeli drone, in what Hamas described as a documented war crime committed in plain sight.

In a powerful statement, Hamas declared: “These scenes document a moment from a heinous crime committed daily by the fascist occupation army, which targets starving people searching for food amid a systematic blockade and starvation imposed by Netanyahu’s war criminal government for nearly four months.”

Hamas added that the strike represents “a sadistic and brutal act by a criminal army stripped of all ethics or humanity, with no regard for values or laws.” The group accused the Israeli army of routinely murdering innocent civilians, including children, women, and the elderly, as part of a sustained campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people.

The statement urged the international community to act decisively, stressing that the ongoing crimes—including the deliberate targeting of starving civilians and the repeated massacres across Gaza—should be urgently addressed through international courts and accountability mechanisms. “This rogue state must no longer be allowed to act with impunity,” the movement said.

Meanwhile, the Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza issued its own damning report, revealing that nearly 580 Palestinians have been killed and over 4,200 injured by Israeli strikes targeting aid seekers and civilians awaiting humanitarian assistance. An additional 39 people remain missing, presumed dead beneath the rubble.

The GMO condemned what it called the Israeli occupation’s "continuous and systematic campaign of starvation and extermination," holding Israel—and its international backers including the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany—fully responsible for the mounting civilian death toll.

“These are not random acts of war,” the Media Office said. “They are deliberate policies designed to break the Palestinian will through starvation and slaughter, actions that amount to genocide under international law.”

As Gaza reels from nearly four months of siege and bombardment, Palestinian officials are calling on the world’s conscience—governments, humanitarian institutions, and civil society—to break their silence and demand justice for a people enduring one of the most brutal assaults of the 21st century. (ILKHA)