At Least 42 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza, Including Massacre Near Aid Distribution Point
Witnesses Describe Chaos and Carnage as Israeli Drones Fire on Crowds Awaiting Food Near Rafah; Gaza Officials Decry Repeated “Massacres of the Starving”.
Watan-At least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across several areas of the Gaza Strip since early Sunday morning, according to medical sources.
Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat reported receiving one martyr and 26 wounded, including three children, a girl, and three women, after Israeli drones opened fire on civilians near an aid distribution point close to the so-called Netzarim checkpoint in central Gaza.
In Khan Younis (south Gaza), a citizen died from injuries sustained when his home was bombed in the town of Abasan al-Kabira.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA and Hamas-affiliated media, at least 30 people were killed in Rafah after Israeli forces attacked a humanitarian aid point managed by the controversial “Gaza Humanitarian” foundation.
مجزرة بحق المواطنين بالقرب من موقع توزيع المساعدات الأمريكية جنوب قطاع غزة حيث استشهد أكثر من 30مواطن حتى اللحظة وعشرات الإصابات #مجزرة_المساعدات pic.twitter.com/X5CTlbBK3K
— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) June 1, 2025
WAFA quoted local sources stating:“The occupation forces opened direct fire on hundreds of civilians trying to reach the aid distribution site in Al-Mawasi, Rafah, killing at least 30 and injuring over 115 others.”
Eyewitnesses described thousands of desperate civilians gathering from dawn in the Al-Mawasi area, seeking food and humanitarian assistance.
One witness recounted:“People started lining up at 4 a.m., waiting for aid from the American-run company. Suddenly we heard explosions and gunfire. Everyone ran. I saw people falling, bleeding. We had no idea where the bullets were coming from.”
Another witness added:“We tried to flee, but the chaos was overwhelming. Children, women, the elderly — all screaming. Some of the wounded were taken to hospitals in donkey carts because ambulances were delayed by continued shelling.”
Witnesses described the scene as “horrific”, with screams of pain drowned out by explosions, intensifying panic among civilians.
The Gaza Government Media Office condemned the attack, calling it a “repeated massacre” targeting “starving civilians.” The office accused the Israeli army of turning aid distribution points into “death traps”.
The statement claimed the aid sites — operated under U.S.-Israeli supervision and secured by the Israeli military — were being used as tools of warfare to bait civilians into exposed areas for mass killing.
The media office added this incident is part of a wider pattern. In the past week alone, 39 people were killed and over 220 injured at aid distribution locations.
The statement concluded that these acts constitute a “full-fledged war crime,” holding Israel and the United States legally and morally responsible.
