Targeted, Trapped, and Starved: Civilians and Humanitarians Alike Under Indiscriminate Attack in Gaza

Multiple documented instances show that, hospitals—such as the recent strike on the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Muwasi—and clearly marked humanitarian vehicles, including ambulances and UN cars, have been hit by airstrikes.

Humanitarian personnel from NGOs, UN agencies, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society continue to face grave threats, with 408 aid workers now confirmed killed.

These repeated, unlawful attacks not only breach international humanitarian law— are paralyzing the delivery of critical aid in Gaza.  

There have been repeated instances of Israeli military operations carried out without prior warning—or with such inadequate notice—that families are forced to flee for their lives in panic, often in the dead of night.

The indiscriminate nature of these strikes has left civilians with no safe haven.

Shelters, schools, residential blocks, and even sites previously designated for displaced families have come under bombardment.

In the past two weeks alone, two sites supported by DRC with site management were directly hit by airstrikes—resulting in the deaths of 17 civilians at one site and 30 at the other (a total of three children were killed and 38 orphaned across both sites), with almost 100 more injured.

One of the sites was completely reduced to rubble, displacing already displaced families yet again and forcing them to seek refuge in another overcrowded shelter. 

DRC strongly condemns these repeated attacks on collective centers and shelters meant to protect vulnerable civilians. As forced displacement orders continue with no safe alternatives, families are being pushed into a devastating cycle of flight—returning to shelters that have already been bombed or sleeping out in the open, entirely unprotected.

According to DRC’s report, ‘Suffering by Design: The Human Cost of Repeated Displacement in Gaza’, since October 2023, over 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced an average of six times. 

At this time, a 60-day full Israeli blockade on Gaza remains in place, compounding the already catastrophic conditions caused by continued strikes.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that its food stocks in Gaza have been completely depleted due to the prolonged blockade, marking the longest closure Gaza has faced.

The WFP’s final food supplies were distributed to community kitchens, which are expected to run out soon. With clear evidence of dwindling food supplies, at least 52 deaths were attributed to hunger and malnutrition, and over one million children are facing daily hunger.