In yet another horrific episode of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, at least 50 Palestinians were martyred and hundreds more severely injured Tuesday morning when Israeli occupation forces opened fire on civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as a massacre, with blood-soaked bodies strewn across the streets and cries for help echoing from the wounded. Medical personnel, already overwhelmed and operating in dire conditions, reported that emergency rooms, ICUs, and operating theaters are beyond capacity, struggling to cope with the influx of victims amid a critical shortage of medicines and supplies due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.

The atrocity was not confined to Khan Younis. In al-Akwa, west of Rafah, Israeli forces once again targeted hungry and desperate civilians gathering near food distribution points, opening fire on them as they sought basic sustenance.

Since March 2, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to a total blockade, with Israel sealing off all border crossings and obstructing the entry of food, fuel, and medicine. The result is a man-made famine and a humanitarian catastrophe that UN agencies have called "unprecedented in modern history."

Attacks on aid points have become routine. Since the so-called “aid mechanism” was imposed on May 27, more than 300 Palestinians have been killed and countless others wounded while attempting to access humanitarian assistance — a tragic indictment of a system that now functions as a deadly trap rather than a lifeline.

Many of these distribution points are operated by the widely rejected “Gaza Relief Foundation”, an Israeli-American front organization shunned by the United Nations. Survivors say these centers have become bait for mass killings, forcing families to choose between hunger and the risk of being shot.

UN officials and human rights advocates have denounced the deliberate targeting of civilians at aid points as part of a systematic campaign of forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli regime has waged a relentless war on Gaza, marked by indiscriminate bombing, mass starvation, destruction of hospitals and schools, and the deliberate targeting of civilians. The International Court of Justice has issued binding orders to halt this campaign, all of which Israel continues to brazenly ignore with the full backing of its Western allies.

The toll of this genocide continues to mount. Over 184,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded, the majority of them children and women. At least 11,000 remain buried under the rubble, their bodies unrecovered amid ongoing airstrikes and restricted rescue operations.

Despite global outrage, Israel’s impunity persists — but so does the resilience of the Palestinian people. The people of Gaza, battered and besieged, continue to hold their ground, demanding nothing more than their right to life, dignity, and freedom from occupation. (ILKHA)