Death trap in Al-Mawasi: Civilians targeted in ‘Humanitarian Zone’

The escalation of Israeli military attacks on displaced persons in Gaza has turned the so-called “humanitarian zone” into a death trap. This reflects a systematic policy of denying Palestinians safety wherever they may be and transforming every refuge into a target as part of the genocide aimed at their annihilation in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army directly fires at the tents of displaced people in Al-Mawasi, southwest Gaza, carrying out daily massacres without any military or security necessity.

The regime targets tents in Al-Mawasi with sniper fire, random shootings from drones and nearby military vehicles, as well as air and artillery strikes—all while claiming the area is a “humanitarian zone” and ordering over a million residents of Gaza City to evacuate there.

In recent days, Euro-Med Monitor’s field team has documented repeated attacks on tents in the area, resulting in the killing of several civilians, injuring many others, destroying their shelters along with the few personal belongings they had, and eliminating their last means of survival.

The team reviewed several videos published by members of the Israeli army showing soldiers shooting at Palestinians in displacement camps for fun or wagering on their accuracy.

This demonstrates that the shootings had no specific objective or military necessity, but rather reflect a deliberate policy aimed at maximizing civilian deaths and extermination—leaving Palestinians with no sense of safety.

Similarly, Euro-Med Monitor documented the killing of journalist Iman Ahmed Al-Zamlī, who was targeted by Israeli soldiers near Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis while trying to obtain drinking water.

The team also documented the killing of academic journalist Hassan Dohan, who was shot in a displacement camp in Al-Mawasi.

In addition to shootings, the tents of displaced persons have been repeatedly bombarded from the air and shelled by Israeli gunboats and tanks.

Targeting civilians inside “humanitarian zones” that are ostensibly protected indicates a deliberate policy that renders the very concept of protection meaningless.

When areas designated as safe havens become killing grounds for snipers and bombardment, it becomes clear that the Zionist regime seeks to eliminate any possibility of refuge for Palestinians.

This reveals a systematic policy to deny safety across the Gaza Strip, where displaced people face either death by bombing and gunfire or a slow death by hunger, disease, and the collapse of the healthcare system.

The regime uses displacement itself as a weapon for committing multiple crimes: on the one hand, forcing civilians to leave their homes under the pretext of protection, while on the other, targeting them in displacement areas. Thus, displacement becomes the primary tool of oppression—herding and confining civilians into spaces that maximize casualties and turning supposed shelters into collective slaughterhouses.