In the early morning quiet of Deir al-Balah, mothers stood in line clutching ration cards and holding their children close, hoping to collect nutritional supplements. Minutes later, their bodies were scattered in the dust. An Israeli airstrike struck the crowd without warning, killing at least 16 Palestinians, ten of them children, and leaving others in pieces among crumpled food packets.

Witnesses spoke of a mother promising her son they would eat soon, only for him to watch her vanish in the blast. “Their bodies are there, all three,” a child cried from a donkey cart, pointing to where his mother and siblings had stood moments earlier.

The targeted area, an aid distribution point, was obliterated. Food meant to ease hunger now lies buried in rubble. Survivors, too poor for ambulances, loaded the dead onto carts and rushed them to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Every one of the victims was a civilian. Most were already displaced from their homes, driven from one danger into another. Aid groups warn that Gaza is being starved while being bombed, with families forced to risk death just to feed their children.

In Gaza, the line between survival and slaughter has disappeared. Even queues for food are now marked for targeting.