GAZA, June 9, 2025 (WAFA) – Eight Palestinians were shot dead on Monday morning by Israeli occupation forces while desperately waiting for food aid near the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to local sources.
WAFA correspondent reported that the victims were among a crowd of civilians waiting for food aid near the U.S. aid distribution center west of Rafah when Israeli forces opened fire.
Last week, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the Israel-crafted aid distribution mechanism has become a “death trap” for starving civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“Aid distribution has become a death trap,” he said in a statement. “This humiliating system has forced thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli Army,” Lazzarini said.
“Aid deliveries and distribution must be at scale and safe. In Gaza, this can be done only through the United Nations, including UNRWA,” he added.
The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 2023 has so far resulted in at least 54,880 documented Palestinian fatalities, with over 126,227 others injured.
Thousands of victims are feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks.
Israel's genocidal attacks continue unabated despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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