Al Mezan Strongly Condemns Khan Younis Aid Site Massacre, Holds Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Responsible

Gaza, 17 July 2025 – According to Al Mezan's field information, at least 20 Palestinian civilians suffocated to death and dozens were injured during a deadly stampede in the early morning hours of Wednesday, 16 July 2025, at the Morag aid distribution point, south of Khan Younis, operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Eyewitnesses reported that American soldiers responsible for securing the site closed the gate on thousands of civilians who had gathered since dawn in desperate search of food. Soldiers then fired pepper spray directly at the crowd, triggering panic and suffocation, as people were crushed and trampled on as they tried to escape. In a crush near the gate and surrounding metal fencing, dozens fell to the ground – many of them children and youths – some of whom died after being trampled. Victims were transported to Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis by animal-drawn carts. Seventeen bodies have been identified so far, while others remain unidentified in hospital morgues.

M.Z., a 17-year-old eyewitness, who lives in a tent in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, and was present at the time, described what happened as follows:

“Due to the severe shortage of food supplies and the skyrocketing prices, I’ve gone several times to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution points to get whatever food I can to ease our starvation. Around 05:00 a.m., on Wednesday, 16 July 2025, I went with my cousin to Al-Tina Street to reach the Morag aid distribution point.

When we arrived, we sat at the end of Lemon Street, the only road that leads to the site, about 1.5 kilometres away. Suddenly, an Israeli tank stationed in the middle of the road opened fire. At around 6:30 a.m., the tank withdrew, signalling that the aid point was open. We ran toward the gate along with a huge crowd.

We reached the main gate; we were packed between the fences. Suddenly, the American soldiers closed the gate and fired pepper spray directly at us.

People began pushing and crashing into each other. Many fell to the ground – particularly children, who were trampled underfoot. No one could help them at that moment. Everyone was trying to escape the gas and still get food.

We managed to force open the gate and rushed in. I grabbed some lentils and cooking oil and stuffed them in an empty flour sack I always carry. While I was sitting and searching for small 1kg flour bags, people started piling on top of me. I could barely breathe and screamed for help until I was pulled out.

As I left, I saw around 15 people lying on the ground – some motionless, others receiving help from people nearby. I went home exhausted and still feel the effects of the gas the Americans sprayed on us.”

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since the GHF began operations in Gaza on 27 May 2025, over 851 Palestinian civilians have been killed, and 5,634 injured.

Al Mezan strongly condemns this horrific crime perpetrated against Palestinian civilians seeking humanitarian aid, and holds those with oversight of the GHF’s operations fully responsible. This massacre represents yet another deadly manifestation of how humanitarian aid is being weaponized, used not to alleviate suffering but to inflict genocide.

Accordingly, Al Mezan calls on the international community to launch an urgent, independent, and transparent investigation into this and similar incidents, and to hold all responsible parties – whether involved directly in GHF’s operations or in supporting them – accountable. Al Mezan further demands an immediate end to this inhumane aid system, which has clearly shown its purpose: to use starvation as a weapon of war and to deliberately impose conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza as part of Israel’s ongoing genocide.

Al Mezan reiterates its urgent call on the international community to take immediate action to compel Israel to end its ongoing genocide, enforce an immediate ceasefire, end its policy of collective punishment and starvation, lift the blockade, and ensure the safe and unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid at the maximum possible scale. Ensuring humanitarian access is a moral, legal, and humanitarian obligation that falls on all States, and must not be subjected to political interests. States must uphold humanitarian principles that safeguard the lives and dignity of civilians.

Al Mezan also urges support for the United Nations and its specialized agencies, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and calls for it to be allowed to continue its life-saving interventions in Gaza. For decades, UNRWA has demonstrated adherence to humanitarian standards and the capacity to conduct neutral and safe relief operations that uphold human dignity and rights.

Al Mezan emphasizes that the continuation of this degrading and coercive system – designed to engineer starvation – is evidently a crime under international law, and that the global response to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is a stark indicator of moral collapse..