Israeli military commits another massacre in south of Gaza, ICRC unable to help

Palestinian residents of Khuza’a, a town east of Khan Younis city in the south of the Gaza Strip, accused on Thursday the employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of deceiving them, leaving them trapped under heavy Israeli fire, Pls48 news website reported.

Surviving witnesses reportedly told Palestinian news agency Safa that the ICRC had asked them to flee their homes, encircled by Israeli tanks and under heavy fire by Israeli artillery, towards the entrance of the neighbourhood, where the ICRC staff should have been.

The witnesses said that they started leaving their homes, but instead of finding the ICRC staff at the entrance, they found Israeli tanks that started firing at them, killing and wounding scores.

Safa’s correspondent and the spokesperson of the ministry of health in Gaza both confirmed that there were many deaths and injuries caused by direct Israeli fire at civilians trying to flee the besieged neighbourhood.

For the third consecutive day, Israeli occupation forces have been firing at residential homes in Khuza’a, resulting in a massacre similar to the one committed in Shujaya earlier this week.

As Israeli occupation forces have prevented ambulances from entering the town, wounded civilians in need of immediate treatment were rushed to the house of a local physician. However, witnesses said that after a few minutes the Israeli occupation targeted the house with an F16 rocket, killing the brother of the physician and wounding several others.

Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights described what is going on in Khuza’a as a massacre like the one in Shejaiya. “It is another humanitarian catastrophe,” a statement for the organisation said.

The organisation urged the international community to immediately take action to stop Israel from massacring civilians. “The international community must act urgently to stop the slaughter and end the blockade that has empowered Israel to act as oppressor and executioner,” said the statement.