In the Gaza Strip, which has been suffering from Israel’s suffocating and tight blockade for years, the lives of civilians are at stake on a daily basis, with the deterioration of economic and social conditions and the shortage of basic materials such as food, medicine and fuel. Thousands of residents, including women, children and the elderly, are forced to go to humanitarian aid distribution centres every day, seeking food to stave off hunger and medicine to treat their illnesses, in the desperate belief that aid is their last hope for survival.

However, in a tragic turn of events, these centres are no longer just relief points for civilians, but have become targets for Israeli occupation forces to fire on, in a deliberate crime confirmed by dozens of testimonies and documents showing that targeting civilians as they arrive at or return from distribution centres has become a systematic policy aimed at exterminating Palestinians under the eyes of the world.

Motives for seeking aid: suffering with no options

The people of Gaza live under the weight of a blockade that restricts the movement of goods and people, a fuel shortage that has led to long hours of power cuts, and the almost complete destruction of health and education infrastructure. In this bitter reality, civilians have no choice but to turn to aid distribution centres that provide them with some basic foodstuffs and essential medicines to treat chronic diseases that worsen in the absence of adequate medical care.

One resident told the Canary:

When you can’t find enough food for your children or medicine for their illnesses, you have no choice but to stand in line for hours, no matter the risks.

Israel: systematic targeting: from aid to death

Official reports issued by the Ministry of Health in Gaza document more than 120 deaths near aid distribution centres in the last three months alone, including 45 children and 30 women. These tragic figures are not just statistics, but real stories of families who lost loved ones while waiting for a better life.

Independent human rights organisations confirm that Israel targeting civilians going to or returning from distribution centres is not an accident, but a deliberate policy based on creating a state of terror and intimidation among the population in order to maintain a suffocating siege aimed at weakening the capacity for resistance and achieving slow genocide.

Umm Muhammad, who lost her young son in the aid queue, says: ‘My son was just a child looking for food, but he came back to me as a lifeless body, and my tears never dry.’

Repeated tragedies and ongoing fears

Israel’s crimes did not stop at direct shooting. Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid make the arrival of basic supplies a rare event that is insufficient to meet growing needs, increasing the number of people queuing in front of distribution centres and doubling the risk of them being bombed.

Gaza residents live in a state of constant fear as tragic incidents near aid distribution centres continue to occur. Every day, civilians go out in search of the basic necessities of life, not knowing whether they will return safely or as lifeless corpses. The situation is exacerbated by random explosions and occupation shells that do not distinguish between children, women or the elderly.

In this atmosphere of terror, tension among the residents is increasing, who are now living on the brink of psychological and physical collapse, while infrastructure continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate, compounding the suffering of the sick and wounded who cannot find adequate treatment or proper medical care.

In a scene where hope mixes with terror, aid distribution centres in Gaza have turned into death zones, where the dream of survival has become a daily nightmare for civilians, amid suspicious international silence. In the face of this ongoing tragedy, urgent action is needed to save innocent lives and force the occupation to stop its policy of systematic killing of those who are only seeking their daily bread.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

This post was originally published on Canary.