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01-08-2025
GAZA STRIP: Israeli attacks have killed at least 71 Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid amid a deepening hunger crisis in Gaza, medical sources told media, as hospitals in the besieged territory recorded seven more deaths from famine and malnutrition.
At least 51 people were killed and more than 648 others were wounded by Israeli forces on Wednesday as they were heading towards the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering northern Gaza, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
Another 20 people seeking aid were killed near the so-called Morag Corridor near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Nasser Medical Complex reported.
More than 1,000 Palestinians seeking aid have been killed by Israeli forces near aid distribution sites run by the US and Israeli-backed GHF, which launched operations in late May.
The GHF has been heavily criticized by the UN and other humanitarian organizations for failing to provide enough aid and for the dire security situation at and around its aid distribution sites.
The attacks come as aid agencies and health officials warn of a sharp rise in starvation, particularly among children and the elderly.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 154 people, including 89 children, have died of malnutrition, most in recent weeks. A global hunger monitor said on Tuesday that a famine scenario is unfolding.
Among those struggling to survive is Jihan al-Quraan, a mother who spoke to media while holding her young daughter. “Look at her stomach! There is no flesh, just bones from the lack of food, an entire month without bread,” she said.
Al-Quraan said she tried to get food at a crowded soup kitchen, but returned empty-handed. “I only found some dry pasta shells on the floor,” she added.
Despite mounting needs, aid entering Gaza remains far below required levels. Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, told media that the trickle of aid allowed into Gaza “does not reach the majority of the population”.
According to the UN, Gaza needs at least 500 to 600 aid trucks per day to meet basic humanitarian needs. Yet, only 269 trucks have entered the territory over the past four days.
“Most of them were looted by hungry crowds,” reported journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum from Gaza. “Now, looting aid is not very shocking. It has been a predictable outcome for a prolonged period of a starving population that has been denied access to water, food and medical supplies.”
“People have gone days without getting any kind of food,” he added. “The number of trucks sent to the Gaza Strip falls short of meeting the needs of the population.”
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said it had documented the deaths of dozens of elderly people in displacement camps “due to starvation, malnutrition, or lack of treatment”.
“Many of these deaths were recorded as natural causes, owing to the absence of a clear reporting mechanism within the ministry and the tendency of families to bury their loved ones immediately,” the group said in a statement on social media.
It added that hospitals and primary care centres have seen an “unprecedented surge” in daily deaths over the past two weeks, with hundreds of elderly people arriving in “states of extreme exhaustion, seeking nutritional fluids”.
At least 15 other people were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Wednesday, medical sources told media.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 178 journalists have been killed during Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
