According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, many victims were shot in the head and chest.

A statement from the South African Foreign Ministry recalls that eyewitnesses and medical personnel attest that Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of desperate civilians seeking access to humanitarian aid in Rafah.

“This atrocity is a stark reminder of the catastrophic and terrible conditions of the bombing and siege in Gaza, where access to food and essential aid remains dangerous and has become a matter of life and death,” the Foreign Ministry emphasizes. “The attacks, killings, and injuries of vulnerable civilians constitute a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions and are incompatible with the principles of international humanitarian law, and therefore demand urgent scrutiny,” it states.

Consequently, South Africa joins the global call for an immediate and impartial international investigation and reiterates that Israel, as the occupying power, has a legal responsibility under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and ensure safe access to aid.

In the statement, the South African Foreign Ministry reiterates its criticism of Israel’s deliberate marginalization of established aid agencies, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has been the primary agency responsible for the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees for more than 75 years.

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