Israeli occupation forces have committed yet another massacre against starving Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza, killing 21 people, including 15 who died from tear gas inhalation, as they attacked thousands of desperate aid seekers in Khan Yunis early Wednesday morning.

According to medical sources and eyewitnesses on the ground, occupation troops opened fire with live ammunition and launched barrages of tear gas at crowds of civilians waiting near an aid distribution point. The site had drawn thousands of displaced Palestinians hoping to receive urgently needed food and humanitarian supplies.

This latest atrocity marks a grim milestone—the first time mass fatalities have been reported due to tear gas inhalation and panic-induced stampedes at aid centers. What were once fragile lifelines for Gaza’s besieged population are now turning into death traps under constant Israeli attack.

A correspondent from the official Palestinian news agency WAFA confirmed the brutal assault, reporting widespread chaos and dozens of injuries in addition to the 21 confirmed dead.

The massacre comes amid growing international outrage over the systematic targeting of aid seekers in Gaza. Just days earlier, the United Nations Human Rights Office revealed that at least 798 Palestinians have been killed since the end of May while attempting to access humanitarian assistance.

Human rights defenders and aid workers say the killing of civilians at distribution points is part of a deliberate Israeli policy to weaponize hunger and break Palestinian resistance by crushing the population into submission.

Earlier this month, 169 humanitarian organizations issued an urgent call to dismantle the U.S.-Israeli-controlled “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”, condemning it as a failed and deadly mechanism that facilitates the daily murder of Palestinians waiting near aid centers. The coalition warned that aid in Gaza is now being distributed under the shadow of sniper fire, with no protection for those in need.

Wednesday’s massacre in Khan Yunis underscores the accelerating collapse of humanitarian protections in Gaza, as the occupation continues to impose a full siege, bombing hospitals, targeting refugee camps, and now executing civilians as they seek flour, water, and medicine.

With starvation already widespread, and international aid convoys unable to move freely, observers fear that the targeting of aid seekers could push Gaza into a phase of engineered famine.

Calls are mounting for international accountability, an end to Israeli impunity, and immediate protection for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Despite mounting evidence of war crimes, including forced starvation, attacks on medical facilities, and now mass killings at food lines, Western governments continue to arm and support the occupation regime.

The people of Gaza are not only under siege—they are being systematically starved and slaughtered, even as they reach out for help. (ILKHA)