Palestinian Territory - The Israeli army killed and injured over 600 Palestinians near three aid distribution centres it had established in areas under its control in the Gaza Strip, all within one week. This incident provides stark evidence that these sites function as killing zones, used to deliberately target and execute civilians in the field.
The global silence in the face of Israel's escalating genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip, now nearing its 20th month, is both shameful and deeply alarming. In recent months, Israel has not only subjected civilians to starvation but has also established so-called humanitarian centres, near which it has killed civilians as they desperately attempt to access meagre rations under degrading conditions. To date, there has been neither accountability nor any credible, independent investigation into these grave violations.
The Euro-Med Monitor field team documented Israeli forces opening fire on thousands of civilians gathered at dawn on Tuesday, 3 June, near an aid distribution centre in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah, in southern Gaza. At least 27 civilians were killed and 90 injured. The death toll is expected to rise due to the high number of critical injuries and the collapse of healthcare services caused by the blockade and repeated Israeli attacks on medical facilities.
The shooting was intense and random. Everyone lay on the ground as bullets flew overhead; no one dared to stand, because standing cost one his life
A. B., a survivor of the incident
According to testimonies and information collected by Euro-Med Monitor's field researchers, Israeli army snipers deliberately targeted starving civilians with direct gunfire, mostly to the head, despite no apparent threat to Israeli forces.
In his testimony to Euro-Med Monitor, a survivor who requested anonymity said: "At around 3:50 a.m. today, an Israeli quadcopter flew over and photographed the civilian crowd. Then, the army opened fire from a crane in the area. I personally carried three people who had been shot in the head. Most of the injuries were to the head. People came looking for food to ease their hunger, but they went back dead or wounded."
In another testimony, A. B., 38, told the Euro-Med Monitor team: "I went around 3:00 a.m. to the area near Al-Alam in Rafah and waited by a seaside cafeteria. The shooting was intense and random. Everyone lay on the ground as bullets flew overhead; no one dared to stand, because standing cost one his life.
"At around 5:00 a.m., people began approaching the road leading to the aid centre, and gunfire erupted from a quadcopter drone, vehicles behind the dunes, and naval boats," he added.
He continued: "There were many casualties and deaths. Around 5:45 a.m., we managed to enter the centre, and I was able to get an aid package. On my way out, I met a woman in her 40s who said she couldn't continue forward and that she and her children were suffering from hunger and poverty. I gave her my package and returned to try to get another one, but there was nothing left. A quadcopter was overhead, broadcasting insulting remarks: 'You animals, go away, the supply is out.'"
"As I was leaving and nearing the chute's exit, I saw a child crying out loudly, 'Mom, get up, Mom, get up.' I went closer and found the woman I had given my package to lying in a pool of blood. She was dead," he said. "A group of young men and I carried her outside and placed her in an ambulance. I accompanied her son to the hospital. On the way, along the sea road, I saw seven bodies lying on the side of the road."
"When I returned to my tent, I swore before God and in front of my wife and children that I'd never go to an aid distribution centre, no matter how hard life becomes, even if I had to eat sand."
In one of the cases of civilian field execution documented by Euro-Med Monitor, Israeli forces killed Khaled Ahmed Abu Sweilem, 41, as he attempted to reach an aid distribution centre west of Rafah on Tuesday morning to obtain food.
After successfully collecting an aid package, he was shot from behind while exiting the centre. The bullet struck him behind the right ear and lodged in his head, killing him instantly. His body was first transferred to a field hospital, then to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza.
The Israeli army, along with the US-backed organisation managing the aid distribution centres, directs Palestinians to collect aid at designated sites, instructing them to wait through inspection and humiliation gates. Once there, they are subjected to direct fire from snipers, quadcopter drones, helicopters, and at times tank shells, under the pretext that Israeli forces stationed hundreds of meters away are under threat.
Incidents on the ground demonstrate that Israeli forces have deliberately positioned aid distribution centres in dangerous, militarised areas under their control, without providing safe corridors. This has created a deadly trap for thousands of starving civilians who, after more than three months of border closures, are risking their lives for a small amount of food. Many return wounded—if they return at all.
The Israeli army typically denies responsibility for these serious crimes or attempts to justify its use of live fire by claiming that "suspects" approached areas where its forces are deployed. These claims are made without presenting evidence and often contradict earlier accounts, reflecting a disregard for the lives of starving civilians. This pattern is a direct consequence of the impunity Israel has long enjoyed.
The international community must take immediate and decisive action to compel Israel to end its inhumane aid distribution mechanism in the Gaza Strip. Over just eight days, this system has contributed to daily massacres that have killed 102 Palestinians and injured nearly 500 others, including many in critical condition.
The chaos at aid distribution centres reinforces earlier concerns about the Israeli mechanism's inability to deliver humanitarian assistance effectively. Hundreds of existing centres cannot be replaced by just four sites that resemble military detention facilities and lack even the basic infrastructure to receive civilians and distribute aid safely and efficiently.
These incidents should not be dismissed as procedural issues fixable through operational adjustments. They must be understood within the broader context of the grave consequences of the Israeli military's control over humanitarian aid. It is inconceivable that the same entity accused of committing genocide for nearly 20 months can be entrusted with improving the humanitarian conditions of the very population it targets.
An immediate end to the Israeli aid distribution mechanism in the Gaza Strip is essential, as it has become a site of field executions and fails to meet even the most basic humanitarian standards. Euro-Med Monitor stresses the need to reinstate the previous UN-led mechanism to ensure the safe and effective delivery of aid to Gaza's population.
All states and relevant actors must exert maximum pressure on Israel to prevent it from bypassing or undermining the work of experienced UN agencies in the Gaza Strip.
Euro-Med Monitor underscores the critical and impartial role these agencies play in delivering humanitarian aid and coordinating the response for over 2.2 million Palestinians facing death and starvation.
