Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
Desperation is mounting in the Palestinian territory of more than two million, which experts say is at risk of famine because of Israel's blockade and nearly two-year offensive.
People in #Gaza, including UNRWA staff, are fainting due to starvation and severe hunger.
People including children are dying from severe malnutrition.
People are being starved.
UNRWA alone has thousands of trucks in neighbouring countries waiting to enter Gaza – banned by… pic.twitter.com/02h3MMD4pd
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 23, 2025
A breakdown of law and order has led to widespread looting and contributed to chaos and violence around aid deliveries.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly near aid sites run by an American contractor, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday.
More than 100 human rights groups and charities signed a letter published on Wednesday demanding more aid for Gaza and warning of grim conditions causing starvation.
More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals.
Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
The UN and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday that forces were operating in Gaza City, as well as in northern Gaza.
It said that in Jabaliya, an area hard-hit in multiple rounds of fighting, an air strike killed 'a number of' Hamas militants.
"Silencing voices.
As if banning international media is not enough.
Humanitarian workers are also banned when they report on atrocities committed in #Gaza and elsewhere in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The denial of a visa to our colleague from @OCHAopt is the latest in… pic.twitter.com/ewMk0PUY7o
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 22, 2025
Troops struck roughly 120 targets throughout Gaza over the past day, including militant cells, tunnels and booby-trapped structures, among others, the military said.
One Israeli strike hit a house on Tuesday in the north-western side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties.
The dead included six children and two women, according to the health ministry's casualty list.
Another strike hit an apartment in the Tal al-Hawa area in northern Gaza, killing at least six people.
Among the dead were three children and two women, including one who was pregnant. Eight others were wounded, the ministry said.
A third strike hit a tent in the Naser area in Gaza City late on Tuesday and killed three children, Shifa Hospital said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militants operate from populated areas.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
'Trump will never get his Nobel Prize'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended allowing the transfer of millions of dollars to Hamas-run Gaza despite criticism from within his own government, including the education minister Naftali Bennet. For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making moves that propped up the Hamas terror group. Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria - his comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant. "I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting in Riyadh, 37 minutes long, with the former Syrian fighter, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, the same group that attacked the twin towers. The $10m US bounty on his head was only lifted in December. Or is it just another outlet to moan about Starmer? If Palestine becomes a safe place to live and work, many millions will return. Trump will never get his Nobel Prize, and both he and Israel will be on the wrong end of history. Andrew Nutt Bargoed
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Netanyahu makes more enemies by the day within Israel's military
Throughout my many stays over decades there as a journalist, I was always struck by how Tzahal – the Hebrew acronym for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) – was an inescapable part of life for Israelis. Just as most Americans will not hear a wrong word said about their 'veterans', so too have those who have served in Israel's armed forces historically been almost beyond reproach. READ MORE: Home Secretary 'made false allegations against Palestine Action' I'd go as far as to say that even above religion itself, Israeli military service, and by logical extension the IDF, is one of the most significant factors contributing to social cohesion in the country – or at least was up until now. In a country that historically has revered its military leaders and heroes, it's quite something then when those same figures, past and present, start to make their own voices heard by questioning the policies of the Israeli prime minister and government. Even long before the war in Gaza, the rumblings of disquiet were there. But with every day that passes, those voices are becoming more widespread and vociferous. This past week, though, what we have been witnessing is arguably a turning point in public dissent within Israel's influential and exalted military and security establishment. Just a few days ago, almost 600 former Israeli military, intelligence and law enforcement officials signed an open letter to US president Donald Trump (below) urging him to pressure prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, arguing that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel. Calling themselves the Commanders for Israel's Security (CIS) group, the list of signatories reads like a veritable Who's Who of soldiers and spies, some near legendary in Israel in terms of their deeds and service records. Among them were former prime minister and IDF chief Ehud Barak and former IDF chiefs of staff Moshe Ya'alon and Dan Halutz; ex-Shin Bet directors Nadav Argaman, Yoram Cohen, Ami Ayalon, Yaakov Peri, and Carmi Gillon; ex-Mossad chiefs Tamir Pardo, Efraim Halevy and Danny Yatom; and former Israel Police commissioners Dudi Cohen, Moshe Karadi, Rafi Peled, and Assaf Hefetz. Yes, admittedly, some have criticised Netanyahu and his policies before, but never so many and in such an orchestrated way. READ MORE: David Lammy contradicted as UK 'shares Gaza spy plane data with Israel' As the Times of Israel reported, the group also issued a joint video message with a call to end the war in Gaza, arguing that Israel has racked up more losses than victories and that the fighting has dragged on for political reasons rather than strategic military need. 'Each of these people sat in cabinet meetings, operated in the inner circles, attended all the most sensitive decision-making processes,' a voiceover at the start of the video says by way of introduction. 'Together, they have more than a thousand years' experience in national security and diplomacy.' Collectively, the CIS group is a powerful lobby, of that there is no doubt. But this will not stop some Netanyahu supporters asking 'So what?', given that most of the group are now retired. But what's important to recognise here is that it's not just past but very much present-day military voices too that are expressing their disquiet. Current IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir might have been handpicked by Netanyahu to do the prime minister and his right-wing coalition government's bidding in Gaza, but even he, it would now seem, draws the line at plans for the complete 'conquest' of Gaza. Just to be clear here, Zamir is no Mr Nice Guy and politically pretty hard line. In fact, it was almost a given that his appointment would deliver the 'total victory' in Gaza Netanyahu promised. But last Monday, Zamir moved to reduce the size of the standing army, arguing that the decision to fully occupy Gaza constitutes a 'trap' for the IDF. According to Israel's state broadcaster Kan, Zamir told Netanyahu, 'You're going to create a trap in Gaza,' and was also quoted as saying that full occupation 'will significantly endanger the lives of the hostages and cause erosion in the army'. Such was the annoyance among the Netanyahu household, it seems, that Netanyahu's son went on social media to suggest that Zamir was behind a 'rebellion and attempted military coup that is fit for a banana republic in Central America in the 70s'. And so in the space of a week, Netanyahu finds himself under almost unprecedented attack from his top general of the moment and military and intelligence leaders of the past. There is a perverse irony in all of this. For ever since coming to power in his very first term, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel's security must override all other considerations. This, he hoped, would be his lasting legacy. Yet here right now, a pantheon of those who for decades served on the frontlines of Israel's security apparatus are quite simply telling him that his policies over Gaza will result in the opposite, creating more insecurity and deepening Israel's pariah status. Just as Netanyahu has tested the limits of Israel's relationship with Trump and its US and European allies, so too is he gambling with the unspoken limits of his government's relationship with its security establishment. It's worth remembering that Israel has legislative elections at the very latest by October next year, but which could quite easily be called before then. Netanyahu has, so far, prolonged the war in Gaza to remain in power and now his military is getting uneasy about a prolonged campaign. READ MORE: Harrowing before and after pictures show extent of devastation in Gaza As one academic commentator observed, for years, Israel's state-army-people trinity has been the bedrock on which the country has been built. That trinity is now fracturing like never before. This week, in their video address, the CIS group called for those currently in the posts they once held to take a stance against the continuation of the war. They must 'bravely stand up before the prime minister and before the cabinet and say their piece… about this war and its futility,' said ex-Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman. When not one but five of Israel's ex-chiefs of the Shin Bet internal security and counterintelligence service agree with such a statement, it's time to sit up and take notice. It's unlikely of course that Netanyahu will do so, which means that he will only further lose the allegiance of those on whom Israel's security has depended for so long.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
John Swinney to consider imposing state boycott on Israel
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer has written to the First Minister demanding that he adopt the principles of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which aims to put pressure on the Israeli economy in the mould of the anti-apartheid boycott of South Africa. A Scottish Government spokesperson said ministers would 'consider' the proposal, which would see official guidance issued to businesses urging them to end trade with Israel, as was done with Russia in 2022. Greer's letter to John Swinney welcomed the First Minister's acknowledgement that 'there is a genocide in Palestine', but the MSP said he disagreed with the assertion that he was 'trying to do everything I possibly can do to make sure that we apply the pressure' on Israel. Before setting out a raft of measures to implement the BDS campaigns' demands, Greer (below) said: 'As we both know and have previously discussed, there is much more which the Scottish Government can be doing to put pressure on Israel to end its genocide in Palestine.' (Image: Gordon Terris) He called for the Scottish Government to scrap part of the Local Government Act 1988 to allow councils to bar companies from winning contracts if they participated in the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. Greer suggested this could be achieved through an amendment to the Community Wealth Building Bill. As well as issuing guidance to businesses recommending that they halt trade with Israel, Greer suggested that the Scottish Government should stop funding arms companies which have supplied Israel during the genocide and 'all other companies directly complicit in the occupation'. READ MORE: David Lammy contradicted as UK 'shares Gaza spy plane data with Israel' Pension funds should also be encouraged to divest from companies 'complicit in Israel's apartheid regime', Greer added. Finally, he suggested imposing financial penalties on 'complicit companies' through the Scottish Government's powers to impose surcharges on non-domestic rates. Speaking to The National, Greer said: 'Unfortunately the First Minister's claim that he is doing everything possible for Palestine just isn't true. Most foreign policy powers lie with Westminster, but there are still meaningful actions the Scottish Government could take, yet hasn't. (Image: AP) 'John Swinney now rightly recognises what is happening as a genocide. Those words must be matched with action, but we've seen very little of that from his government. Taxpayers' money is still being handed to companies who the United Nations has identified as being directly complicit in Israel's campaign of ethnic cleansing. 'The worst crime against humanity of our time is being inflicted on the Palestinian people right in front of our eyes. 'Scotland has a moral responsibility to act. The same approach helped end apartheid in South Africa. Now we must show that solidarity with the people of Palestine.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The Scottish Government has repeatedly called for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an urgent increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government to recognise a sovereign Palestinian state, as part of a two-state solution to secure lasting peace in the region. 'Ministers will consider and reply to Mr Greer's letter.'
