Israel's war on Gaza: At least 265 Palestinians killed in less than a week
Headlines in recent days have been dominated by Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran, which has killed hundreds of people - including high-ranking commanders, prominent scientists and civilians - since last Friday.
However, even as the bombs rain down across Iran, Israel has continued its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
After 20 months, Gaza has been reduced to rubble, more than 55,700 Palestinians have been killed and the entire population displaced.
Some have raised concerns that the world's attention has been pulled away from the mounting destruction in Gaza by Israel's attack on Iran and the geopolitical fallout.
Middle East Eye takes a look at a week of war in the Gaza Strip:
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Monday - death toll: 20
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli troops killed 20 people waiting to collect food on 16 June.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire" near the al-Alam roundabout in the southern city of Rafah, where many were waiting to reach an aid distribution site.
Bassal said that "twenty martyrs and more than 200 wounded by occupation gunfire" were taken to nearby hospitals.
Ahmed al-Farra, head of the paediatric department at Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis, told AFP that people "are hungry, they didn't get any food since nearly four months ago".
Tuesday - death toll: 80
Israeli forces killed at least 80 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in two attacks at US-run aid distribution centres in the southern Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses told Middle East Eye.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, approximately 30 people were killed in the al-Alam area of Rafah, while the death toll rose to nearly 50 in the al-Tahlia area of Khan Younis.
The attacks occurred as residents gathered at aid distribution points, where they came under artillery shelling from Israeli forces.
Wednesday - death toll: 33
At least 33 people were killed in Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip, including aid seekers.
Bassal, the civil defence spokesman, told AFP that 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded "after the occupation forces opened fire and launched several shells... at thousands of citizens" who had gathered to queue for food in central Gaza.
Thursday - death toll: 72
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 72 people, including 21 who had gathered near aid distribution sites.
Bassal said that six people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern Gaza Strip and 15 others in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, an Israeli-controlled strip of land that bisects the Palestinian territory.
Friday - death toll: 60
Gaza's civil defence agency said 31 Palestinian aid seekers were among at least 60 people killed by Israeli forces.
The civil defence said five people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern Gaza Strip and 26 others near the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations.
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Dubai Eye
9 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Death toll rises in Gaza as aid-seeking crowds come under fire
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the past two days while trying to access food aid in Gaza, amid a worsening hunger crisis, according to local medics. On Thursday, medics reported at least 51 people killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes. Among them were 12 Palestinians who tried to approach a site operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the central part of the Strip. The incident is the latest in a string of deadly encounters involving civilians seeking food. The Israeli military said several individuals it described as "suspects" approached its forces near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza in a way that endangered troops. It said soldiers fired warning shots to deter them and that it was not aware of any injuries at the time. Elsewhere in Gaza on Thursday, medics reported 39 people killed in separate Israeli airstrikes in the north of the territory. One strike on the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City killed at least 19 people, including women and children. Another strike killed at least 14 people in Jabalia and damaged several homes. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on those attacks. Gaza's health ministry said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach GHF distribution sites since late May. The United Nations has criticized the GHF's delivery system, calling it inadequate, dangerous and a violation of humanitarian impartiality. Israel defends the system as a necessary safeguard against diversion of aid by Hamas, a claim Hamas denies. GHF said Wednesday it had distributed 3 million meals across three sites in Gaza without incident. The war in Gaza began after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's ongoing military campaign has since killed nearly 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, displaced nearly the entire population of over 2 million, and left much of the territory in humanitarian collapse.
Middle East Eye
10 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel's war on Gaza: At least 265 Palestinians killed in less than a week
Headlines in recent days have been dominated by Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran, which has killed hundreds of people - including high-ranking commanders, prominent scientists and civilians - since last Friday. However, even as the bombs rain down across Iran, Israel has continued its attacks on the Gaza Strip. After 20 months, Gaza has been reduced to rubble, more than 55,700 Palestinians have been killed and the entire population displaced. Some have raised concerns that the world's attention has been pulled away from the mounting destruction in Gaza by Israel's attack on Iran and the geopolitical fallout. Middle East Eye takes a look at a week of war in the Gaza Strip: New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Monday - death toll: 20 Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli troops killed 20 people waiting to collect food on 16 June. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire" near the al-Alam roundabout in the southern city of Rafah, where many were waiting to reach an aid distribution site. Bassal said that "twenty martyrs and more than 200 wounded by occupation gunfire" were taken to nearby hospitals. Ahmed al-Farra, head of the paediatric department at Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis, told AFP that people "are hungry, they didn't get any food since nearly four months ago". Tuesday - death toll: 80 Israeli forces killed at least 80 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in two attacks at US-run aid distribution centres in the southern Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses told Middle East Eye. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, approximately 30 people were killed in the al-Alam area of Rafah, while the death toll rose to nearly 50 in the al-Tahlia area of Khan Younis. The attacks occurred as residents gathered at aid distribution points, where they came under artillery shelling from Israeli forces. Wednesday - death toll: 33 At least 33 people were killed in Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip, including aid seekers. Bassal, the civil defence spokesman, told AFP that 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded "after the occupation forces opened fire and launched several shells... at thousands of citizens" who had gathered to queue for food in central Gaza. Thursday - death toll: 72 Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 72 people, including 21 who had gathered near aid distribution sites. Bassal said that six people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern Gaza Strip and 15 others in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, an Israeli-controlled strip of land that bisects the Palestinian territory. Friday - death toll: 60 Gaza's civil defence agency said 31 Palestinian aid seekers were among at least 60 people killed by Israeli forces. The civil defence said five people were killed while waiting for aid in the southern Gaza Strip and 26 others near the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations.
The National
14 hours ago
- The National
At least 26 Palestinians reported killed in Israeli attack while waiting for aid
At least 43 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza on Friday, including 26 who had gathered to collect aid, the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency said. Al Awda Hospital in Nuseirat refugee camp, north-east of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza, said it received 23 bodies after Israeli forces fired on people gathered to collect aid near the 'Martyrs' Junction' north of the camp, in addition to dozens of wounded. Medical sources from the Palestinian Red Crescent reported the deaths of another 11 Palestinians, and many others injured, after the Israeli military bombed a house in the Al Maaskar area, west of Deir Al Balah. The wounded were transferred to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city, they said. "Forty-three martyrs have fallen as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 26 of whom were waiting for humanitarian aid," Mohammad Al-Mughayyir, director of medical supply at the civil defence agency, told AFP. Attacks on civilians collecting aid and continued strikes on populated areas are a daily occurrence in Gaza. On Thursday, at least 70 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire and military strikes, Gazan civil defence said, including 12 people who had been trying to approach an aid site operated by the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The system has been widely criticised. 'Palestinian lives have been so devalued. It is now the routine to shoot and kill desperate and starving people while they try to collect little food from a company made of mercenaries,' Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said in a post on Wednesday, after more than 300 Palestinians had been killed collecting aid since the start of GHF deliveries last month. The centres are regularly overrun by Gazans desperate for food after a nearly three-month total blockade of aid deliveries imposed by Israel in March. Crowds start gathering near the distribution sites before dawn, despite a warning from the Israeli military that these areas are considered combat zones between 6pm and 6am. The recently created GHF, whose four distribution centres are guarded by private security contractors and surrounded by Israeli forces, began deliveries to replace the aid delivery system operated by the UN. Since October, 2023, the Palestinian death toll from Israel's war in Gaza has passed 55,700, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, and the number injured has risen to more than 130,100. Israel's strikes and ground offensive followed a Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 abducted.
