Dozens killed while seeking food in Gaza
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between fighters and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Israel's military offensive and blockade have led to the "worst-case scenario of famine" in the coastal territory of some 2 million Palestinians, according to the leading international authority on hunger crises. A breakdown of law and order has seen aid convoys overwhelmed by desperate crowds.
US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led the Trump administration's efforts to wind down the nearly 22-month war and release hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that sparked the fighting, will arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks on the situation in Gaza.
People gather around one of the victims injured while waiting for aid trucks entering the northern Gaza Strip through the Zikim crossing, as he lies on the floor at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday. AFP
Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the dead and wounded were among crowds massed at the Zikim Crossing, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. It was not immediately clear who opened fire and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which controls the crossing.
Associated Press footage showed wounded people being ferried away from the scene of the shooting in wooden carts, as well as crowds of people carrying bags of flour.
Al-Saraya Field Hospital, where critical cases are stabilized before transfer to main hospitals, said it received more than 100 dead and wounded. Fares Awad, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency service, said some bodies were taken to other hospitals, indicating the toll could rise.
Israeli strikes and gunfire had earlier killed at least 46 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, most of them among crowds seeking food, health officials said. Another seven Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on any of the strikes. It says it only targets fighters and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because the group's fighters operate in densely populated areas.
Palestinians carry aid supplies in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Reuters
Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza, but aid workers say much more is needed.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the leading world authority on hunger crises, has stopped short of declaring famine in Gaza but said Tuesday that the situation has dramatically worsened and warned of "widespread death" without immediate action.
COGAT, the Israeli military body that facilitates the entry of aid, said over 220 trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday. That's far below the 500-600 trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed, and which entered during a six-week ceasefire earlier this year.
The United Nations is still struggling to deliver the aid that does enter the strip, with most trucks unloaded by crowds in zones controlled by the Israeli military. An alternative aid system run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, has also been marred by violence.
Bodies of Palestinians killed a day earlier while waiting for aid are stacked at the Al-Shifa hospital morgue in Gaza City on Thursday. AFP
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, most near sites run by GHF, according to witnesses, local health officials and the UN human rights office. The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.
International airdrops of aid have also resumed, but many of the parcels have landed in areas that Palestinians have been told to evacuate while others have plunged into the Mediterranean Sea, forcing people to swim out to retrieve drenched bags of flour.
A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across Gaza since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.
Israel denies there is any starvation in Gaza, rejecting accounts to the contrary from witnesses, UN agencies and aid groups, and says the focus on hunger undermines ceasefire efforts.
Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which fighters killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the rest of the hostages were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
4 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
WHO calls for opening of Gaza crossings and demands 600 trucks be allowed daily
A spokesperson for the World Health Organization has demanded that the crossings into Gaza be opened and that 600 trucks be allowed into the enclave daily, Al Jazeera has reported. "The situation in Gaza is a man-made disaster that will end with the entry of aid. Airdropping aid is not a solution; the solution is to bring trucks into Gaza," the spokesperson said. The UN human rights office has said that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for aid in Gaza since late May. "In total, since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of [US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation] sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys," the UN agency's office for the Palestinian territories said in a statement. "Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military," it added.
Middle East Eye
10 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
'You can see his bones': In Gaza, parents struggle against child starvation and Israeli war crimes denial
The photo of an 18‑month‑old Palestinian infant from Gaza, his body resembling a "skeleton" with ribs and spine clearly visible, spread rapidly across the internet over the past week. Widely shared by international media outlets, including the BBC, CNN and The New York Times, the image sparked global outrage. It also created controversy. Israel and its supporters argued that the infant had "pre‑existing health problems." That has been the basis of claims by supporters of Israel to claim that starvation in Gaza is a "lie." Middle East Eye visited the child and his mother in their makeshift tent in western Gaza City. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The child's mother Hidaya recalled her story from her home in a makeshift tent in what was once a wedding hall looking out to the sea. "When the war on Gaza began, I was seven months pregnant with Mohammed," she said, referring to her child, Mohammed al-Mutawaq, whose image has become a symbol of the human cost of Israel's tactic of starving civilians. "He was born in December 2023, at the height of the attacks and during the second month of the first starvation campaign. No, a Gaza toddler having cerebral palsy does not mean Israeli starvation is a 'lie' Read More » "When I gave birth to him, he suffered from a lack of oxygen that caused slight muscle weakness," she added. Despite those early issues, Mohammed was treated by a physiotherapist and showed promising signs of good health. "He began showing remarkable improvements that the doctors were astonished by," Hidaya said. When Mohammed was two months old, Hidaya began to suffer from malnutrition and the child stopped breastfeeding on his own, and a new struggle began to get milk and baby formula. "We managed to secure milk through hospitals during the first months and throughout the first starvation campaign." Hidaya said. "Back then, his father was still alive, he used to bring us milk before he was killed in an Israeli attack. Mohammed's health was still slowly improving in this period and he was reaching a number of milestones. "He even began to speak, saying 'amma' and 'abba'," Hidaya said, using the Arabic words for "mummy" and "daddy." He had even started crawling and standing by early 2025, but then the family were again forced out of Jabalia. Since then, Mohammed's health has rapidly deteriorated. His weight has fallen from nine kilograms to less than six, and the progress he had made in muscle strength and mobility has reversed. Hidaya says her son, Mohammed al-Mutawaq, can no longer hold his head up due to the effects of starvation (MEE/Hani Abu Rezeq) "When I began noticing the changes in my son's body and face, I took him to several hospitals, but they told me his only treatment at that time was food," Hidaya said. "They said he needed proper nutrition. "A child like him needs milk, eggs, cheese, vegetables and fruits. "But since he came into this world, he has never even known what fruit is. He came into life in the midst of starvation and deprivation of resources." 'Severe acute malnutrition' Doctors told Hidaya that Mohammed now suffers from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the most severe form of malnutrition. They warned that without urgent and consistent access to proper nutrition and medical care, his life will remain at constant risk. But Hidaya has already begun noticing alarming changes in her toddler. At the start of July, he was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with severe dehydration. Israeli starvation death toll approaches 150 as formula shortage threatens babies in Gaza Read More » "I reached a point where I thought he was dead. I used to press my head to his chest, hoping to hear his heartbeat. He wouldn't move, and he had severe diarrhoea. "I believe he was poisoned by the unclean soup kitchen food we relied on as a substitute for proper meals," Hidaya said. Mohammed was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with dehydration and given medication that improved his health slightly. Still, Hidaya was told by doctors that there would be no real improvement in his health until he had access to proper food. Despite his vulnerability, the hospital discharged Mohammed so it could make room for other children. Like Mohammed, hundreds of children are currently lying ill and famished in Gaza's hospitals, diagnosed with severe malnutrition. According to Unicef, from the start of 2025 until May, an average of 112 children were diagnosed daily with acute malnutrition. The UN agency reported that over 6,500 children were diagnosed with acute malnutrition in June, and 5,000 children received the same diagnosis in the first two weeks of July alone. Widespread food insecurity Unicef warned that the entire population of the Gaza Strip was food insecure, while all children under five, which amounts to more than 320,000 children, are at risk of becoming acutely malnourished. "Mohammed learned to walk (but) now he can no longer even sit up on his own. "He can't hold his head steady, and he barely moves his legs. Right now, he's barely able to move his arms," Hidaya told MEE. "If I hadn't seen him crawl and stand before, I might have thought his current condition was due to other health issues. 'If I hadn't seen him crawl and stand before, I might have thought his current condition was due to other health issues' - Hidaya, mother of Mohammed al-Mutawaq "His condition was mild, and he was making progress. Only after we couldn't secure him milk and food did he start to deteriorate like this." Today, when Mohammed wakes Hidaya up crying for milk at night, she soothes him with water. "There are days we go to bed without eating anything. Sometimes, we go four days in a row without food. "There is no baby food, milk, or nutritional supplements available at all. And if they are found in the market, the prices are unimaginably high because they are very scarce," she added. "I became the sole provider for two children after my husband was killed, so it is incredibly difficult to afford food at such prices. "My son has literally become a skeleton. You can see his bones, his ribcage, and his spine through his skin, all because of the lack of food." In addition to the struggle of securing milk, Hidaya now faces the challenge of finding nappies for her toddler, as Israel also blocks hygiene products from entering the besieged territory. As a last resort, she uses plastic bags. "I wrap him in two plastic bags to prevent leakage. You can imagine, in the blazing summer heat, especially while living in a tent, the pain this causes him, and the rashes and skin problems the nylon inflicts on a baby's sensitive skin," she said. "I don't know what kind of life he was brought into. I cannot even secure the bare minimum that the rest of the world takes for granted. "The occupation is fighting us through starvation. They are fighting our children."
Gulf Today
11 hours ago
- Gulf Today
UAE extends lifeline to Gaza's health sector, averting total collapse
The UAE, through its humanitarian efforts and relief aid under Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, has managed to keep the Gaza Strip's health sector operational, averting total collapse and ensuring continued medical services for the Palestinian people. The UAE demonstrated utmost readiness and high professionalism during its swift intervention to address the escalating medical challenges in the Gaza Strip. This was evident through its presence on the ground via the Emirati field hospital inside the Strip, the floating hospital deployed to Egypt's Al Arish city, the transfer of critical and severe cases to UAE hospitals for treatment, and the dispatch of various medical aid and supplies to enhance Gaza's health sector capabilities. The UAE committed to hosting 1,000 Palestinian cancer patients of all ages, as well as 1,000 children with their families. WAM Since its inauguration in December 2023, the Emirati integrated field hospital in Gaza has continued to provide treatment services to the people of Gaza through specialised and qualified cadres in various medical fields, supported by medical volunteers. By April 2025, the number of cases treated at the hospital exceeded 51,000, including critical injuries and complex surgical operations. Through the hospital, the UAE launched a humanitarian initiative to provide prosthetics for injured individuals who underwent amputations, aiming to support their rehabilitation and help them regain their normal lives. The facility has a capacity of 200 beds and includes operating rooms equipped for various types of surgeries. The medical team successfully removed a 5-kilogramme tumour from the abdomen of a patient who had endured years of severe pain and complications. In February 2024, the UAE dispatched an integrated floating hospital off the coast of Al Arish to provide medical support to Palestinians. The facility includes a medical and administrative team across various specialties, such as anaesthesiology, general surgery, orthopaedics, and emergency medicine. By April 2025, the hospital had treated approximately 10,370 cases. It has a capacity of 100 beds, operating rooms, intensive care units, radiology, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and medical warehouses. In addition to on-the-ground support, the UAE has also facilitated the transfer of critical patients to its hospitals. Under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE committed to hosting 1,000 Palestinian cancer patients of all ages, as well as 1,000 Palestinian children with their families, to ensure they receive complete healthcare until they can return home. In February 2024, the UAE dispatched an integrated floating hospital off the coast of Al Arish to provide medical support to Palestinians. By May 14, a total of 2,634 patients and family members had arrived in the UAE, demonstrating the country's commitment to providing necessary treatment. Medical and health supplies constitute a significant part of the total humanitarian aid the UAE continues to deliver to Gaza since the beginning of the crisis. These include various types of medicines and equipment, such as dialysis machines, ultrasound devices, lung resuscitation devices, wheelchairs, artificial respiration masks, and ambulances. After 500 days since the launch of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, the UAE has provided more than 1,200 tonnes of medical materials and supplies to support Gaza's hospitals. The health system was further reinforced with 17 ambulances equipped with the latest technology. A comprehensive polio vaccination campaign was also implemented, covering over 640,000 children as part of preventive efforts to protect future generations from infectious diseases. Between Jan.1 and April 24, 2025, Dubai Humanitarian sent three relief shipments to Al Arish International Airport in support of Gaza, carrying approximately 256 metric tonnes of medical supplies belonging to the World Health Organisation. To enhance public health and prevent communicable diseases, the UAE also contributes through projects and initiatives that provide safe drinking water in the Gaza Strip and implements measures to repair sewage networks, aiming to reduce pollution and curb the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases. WAM
