
Gaza aid site offered a 'women only' day. It didn't stop the killing
Article here. Excerpt:
'The food distribution was announced in advance, like many before it, in a post on social media carrying an illustration of smiling Palestinians receiving boxes of aid.
This time, however, the invitation shared by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was different, featuring illustrations of only women.
"Tomorrow at our morning distribution at our location in the Saudi district, only women are welcome to come and receive a food box," the GHF post said. "Men should avoid the site during this distribution."
Mary Sheikh al-Eid wanted to feed her seven children. Her husband had been killed earlier in the war and the family had been surviving on lentil soup for three weeks, said Mary's sister Khawla, but the last week had been a struggle.
"Her children and mine told us not to go," Khawla told the BBC. "Mary told me she wanted to because it was a day for women and the numbers wouldn't be big."
...
On Thursday, the sisters Mary and Khawla set off early for the aid point in the southern Rafah area. By the time they arrived, the scene was already chaos.
"There was a huge crowd of women and the place seemed out of control, they couldn't offload and distribute the aid," Khawla said. "They started spraying the women with pepper spray, then they brought stun grenades and started throwing them on the women to force them backwards."
The sisters got split up in the mayhem. Khawla's clothes were full of pepper spray and so she called her sister, agreeing to meet at their brother's house.'
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