The Hamas movement has issued a strong condemnation of what it described as a deliberate massacre carried out by Israeli occupation forces at an aid distribution site in western Rafah, holding both Israel and the U.S. administration fully responsible. In a statement released after Sunday’s attack, which killed more than 35 and wounded over 150 Palestinians, Hamas accused Israel of using humanitarian aid as a weapon of war, turning sites of hope into sites of horror.

The statement denounced the “fascist occupation army” for setting up so-called aid mechanisms designed not to help but to lure starving civilians into deadly ambushes. “This massacre confirms the criminal intentions behind the Israeli-controlled distribution system,” it said, adding that these locations have become “traps where hunger meets bullets.”

According to Hamas, thousands of desperate civilians, worn down by relentless bombardment and starvation, responded to Israeli announcements directing them to aid points. Instead of receiving food, they were met with gunfire. The group described this as clear evidence of premeditated intent to kill, humiliate, and terrorise an already devastated population.

Hamas called on the United Nations, and in particular the UN Security Council, to issue binding resolutions to dismantle what it termed “a deadly mechanism of murder disguised as relief.” It demanded the immediate opening of Gaza’s crossings and the entry of aid under the supervision of recognised UN agencies.

Additionally, the group urged the formation of an independent international committee to investigate what it called systematic crimes against civilians in Gaza and to hold those responsible accountable for war crimes. The statement ended with a plea to Arab and Islamic countries to intervene urgently, both politically and practically, to stop the war, lift the siege, and ensure the uninterrupted flow of lifesaving humanitarian aid.

What was meant to be a distribution of food has once again become a scene of carnage,  a grim reminder that in Gaza, even aid has become a battlefield.