The Gaza-run health ministry has said that 27 people were killed after coming under Israeli gunfire for the second time in Rafah whilst waiting to collect aid packages. On the 2nd of June, 51 Palestinian civilians were killed at a food/aid distribution point in Gaza. The United Nations and associate aid groups have denounced the killing of dozens of starving Palestinians seeking food near the US-backed Gaca Humanitarian Foundation.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, with over 124, 693 injured as reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry. According to health officials, the true death toll is hard to determine because of the challenging circumstances. Thousands of civilians are missing, presumed dead, whilst others are buried under collapsed buildings and structures. Speaking to BBC World, Mandy Blackman, a medic working in Gaza has described a very desperate situation at Al-Mawasi hospital following the shooting.
“The patients reported that they’d been going to get the food aid, and it was during this journey that they sustained their injuries,” she explains.
“We’ve seen gunshot wounds, we’ve seen some stabbings, people beaten by what they say were bricks, and we’ve had people who’ve been pepper sprayed as well.”
And, the emergency medic says these reported attacks at aid distribution centres has left the hospital “running at pretty much 100% capacity”.
The Israeli military says it fired shots near an aid complex after identifying “several suspects” and it is examining reports of casualties. The CapeTown Post would like to bring to the attention of the reader that independent (and international) media outlets have been barred by the Israeli government from reporting in the enclave since 2023.