On the evening of Saturday 7 June, Israeli troops opened fire near an aid distribution point in the Rafa region in southern Gaza, killing six Palestinians, the fourth similar incident in a week.

According to Marwan Hams, the head of the Battle Hospital of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the incident occurred in western Rafah. At that time, a large number of citizens were gathering near the aid distribution point, hoping to receive the urgently needed supplies, but the sudden gunfire caused several civilians to die on the spot.

The identity of the victims has not been confirmed yet, and the World Health Organization has stated that the data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health is credible.

The IDF subsequently issued a statement saying that the incident occurred near the Telle Sudan refugee camp, and the army issued a "warning shot" to "several suspects".

The statement mentioned that the suspects approached Israeli soldiers at night and their actions "posed a threat to the soldiers."

The Israeli army said it had warned the area as a "night combat active area" and used shouting to disperse the suspects, but the soldiers were forced to open fire as they continued to move forward.

The Israeli army admitted that it had fired, but did not specify what kind of threat the "suspect" posed. At the same time, it was not responsible for the deaths of these civilians, and only stated that "the relevant casualties and injuries were known."

Sudden attacks

The incident on Saturday was just one of the many conflicts in the past seven days, with multiple aid distribution points in the Rafah area previously becoming the center of bloody conflict.

On Sunday, June 1, more than 30 people were killed and hundreds were injured in Rafa. According to local health officials and aid workers, citizens were waiting near the distribution point to receive supplies at the time of the incident.

NBC News reporters interviewed four witnesses, all of whom said they were attacked from the air and the ground while queuing.

A Israeli military official responded that the army warned and fired "several suspects" half a mile from the aid point and denied the claims that civilians were killed and injured, calling it "false charges."

On Monday, three more Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli troops near a food distribution site in Rafah, and dozens of others were injured.

At early morning on Tuesday, June 3, at least 27 people died in shootings near the aid site, and more than 160 others were injured, including a five-year-old girl.

The Israeli army said that soldiers warned and fired "a crowd that could pose a threat" about 0.3 miles from the Rafah aid point and had begun investigating the death and injury report. However, the military did not give a detailed explanation on how these people posed a threat.

Brenda Kelly, an obstetric consultant physician at Oxford University Hospital, told Al Jazeera: "What we are seeing now is the direct consequence of Israel's use of the weapon of hunger in Gaza, which affects the growth of babies, which are one of the main causes of miscarriage and stillbirth."