The massacres at the food distribution points in Gaza represent one of the worst forms of humanitarian violations in the world, while the places where food is distributed are supposed to be a safe haven for starving civilians, it has become a bloody scene of deliberate massacres targeting innocent people looking for a bite to stop them. These violations, which are taking place in the eyes of the world, reveal a systematic policy of starvation and cold-blooded killing of the Palestinian people.
How did food lines turn into massacres and killing fields?
In a scene that embodies the harshest forms of human suffering, food distribution lines in Gaza have turned into arenas of mass death, where massacres are committed against those seeking food, under the fire of the occupation, where the occupation forces deliberately target civilians directly. Waiting for food aid is no longer just a humanitarian need, but a risk that could end in injury or loss of life. These lines, which are supposed to be hope, have become a direct target of attacks, as every time a humanitarian organization announces the distribution of food aid, people, mostly children, women and the elderly, gather in the hope of getting their day’s food, but they are surprised by a bloody attack, through shelling or shooting. These massacres are not isolated incidents, but a systematic policy aimed at starving the population, breaking their will, and spreading terror among them.
The targeting of food distribution points exposes the persistence of the severe blockade imposed by the occupation for years, and these attacks exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and increase the rates of malnutrition and deaths due to hunger, especially among the most vulnerable groups such as women, children and the elderly. These operations are a direct targeting of the human right to life and dignity, and in the absence of an effective international response, the situation is worsening, leaving the population with a dire reality that threatens their existence and exacerbates their daily suffering.
Massacres that target all elements of life.
Gaza is going through a series of brutal massacres that are no longer limited to direct military confrontations, but have spread systematically to all basic necessities of life, with catastrophic effects on both human beings and infrastructure. The attacks are no longer limited to specific locations, but have spread to hospitals, schools, shelters, water and electricity networks, and even food warehouses, and this systematic destruction clearly indicates a deliberate intent to empty the land of its people, seize it, and deprive the population of a minimum livelihood.
Under the suffocating siege, the disaster is intensifying day by day, with civilians facing extreme difficulties in accessing health care, clean water and adequate food. Daily life in Gaza has turned into a battle for survival, and famine threatens the lives of thousands of families, and eliminates many of them, especially with the continued systematic starvation of the people of Gaza by the Israeli occupation.
Massacres documented in audio and video ... testimonies of the people of the Gaza Strip
Food distribution points have turned into catastrophic slaughterhouses, targeting exhausted civilians seeking a bite to eat, children, women, the elderly and men, and these attacks are repeated as the starving people approach the aid distribution points. The targeting of food distribution points is a direct targeting of civilian lives and the most basic of their survival, and documenting these massacres in audio and video, and the testimonies of survivors who recount the pain, is conclusive evidence of the scale of the crimes committed, and an urgent appeal to stop this bleeding, and to ensure that aid reaches safely to everyone in need without fear or threat.
Testimonials from within:
Journalist Anas al-Sharif says: "People are now falling on the streets of Gaza from hunger, they are falling on the ground from hunger, and this injured person who has now no treatment, and this is the case of all citizens inside the Strip, they are falling on the ground one by one, they need one meal, they need one loaf of bread, they need a drink of water."
A young woman in the Gaza Strip says, "I spent a whole week on a cup of tea, as if my body were quietly withdrawing and forgetting itself, and giving up its needs little by little, walking a little and then sitting for a long time, hunger stops biting and turns into numbness that makes you dead and you’re still alive."
Musab al-Deebis, 14, whose weight has dropped from 40kg to 10kg, is exhausted in the Shifa hospital, his mother says: "Gaza is living a disaster ... no food, no milk, no medicine," while doctors appeal to get him out for treatment before it is too late.
Yousef Safadi is six weeks old, dying of hunger, his uncle carried his meager body in the corridors of the hospital, saying that the last bottle was days ago.
Teacher Ala Arafat’s novel, "Hunger Kills My Little Girls and I Stand Helpless," describes how her two nieces temporarily lost their sight after days without enough food.
These are some of the thousands of stories of the starving in Gaza, where the entire population does not know how to get food for themselves and their children, the father sees his helplessness in front of his starving children and does not know how to alleviate their pain, while the mother watches her baby screaming from hunger and there is no milk to feed him, and the journalist stands and continues his work and conveys the truth as he is on the verge of collapse due to extreme hunger. Hunger takes hold of people’s bodies, and this systematic war must cease, every once in a while, to write a new tragedy. These stories don't end, they accumulate day by day.
