Israeli forces kill 21 aid seekers as Gaza starvation death toll rises
Gaza
Israeli attacks have killed at least 39 people, including 21 seeking humanitarian aid and 11 who starved to death, over 24 hours in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities said.
Gaza's Ministry of Health said on Saturday that the total number of malnutrition deaths has reached 212, including 98 children, since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.
Most of the deaths have occurred in recent weeks as Israel continues to impose severe restrictions on aid supplies entering Gaza after partially lifting a total blockade in late May.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, told Al Jazeera that famine continues to pose a serious risk 'especially among children and the elderly'.
'Malnutrition among children leads to decreased immunity and may lead to death,' he said.
On Friday, the World Food Programme (WFP) called on Israel to allow the delivery of at least 100 aid trucks per day to Gaza, noting that only 60 of its aid truck drivers have been vetted and approved by the Israeli military to date.
The 100 trucks per day the organisation called for is a fraction of the 600 per day other United Nations agencies and Gaza authorities have said are needed to meet the basic needs of Gaza residents.
'Since July 27, 266 WFP trucks arriving at crossing points were turned back, 31 percent of which had initially been approved,' the agency's latest report said.
'Convoy movements are frequently hampered by last-minute changes by Israeli authorities, and heavy insecurity due to military activities along convoy routes.'
In its latest statement on Saturday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, noted that it has not been allowed to bring any humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food and medicine, for more than five months, depriving hungry and ailing Palestinians of what they need to survive.
UNRWA has been calling on Israel to lift its siege on Gaza, saying the ongoing airdrops of humanitarian aid from several countries 'are very expensive and ineffective' at reaching those urgently in need.
The warnings come as Israeli forces continued to escalate their attacks across the territory. Six people were killed by Israeli soldiers while waiting for aid near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
Two other Palestinians were also killed and transported to the Nasser Medical Complex from a GHF aid distribution site in the southern part of the territory.
One woman was killed and another person was wounded in an Israeli air strike targeting an apartment in Khan Younis in the south.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry's latest count, at least 39 people have been killed in 24 hours.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 61,369 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 152,850. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
As the death toll continues to soar, international condemnation of Israel's conduct in the war is growing, with several countries raising alarm over Israel's plans to seize Gaza City in an operation that could forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to concentration zones in southern Gaza.
A rare emergency UN Security Council meeting has been scheduled on Sunday to address the plan approved by Israel's security cabinet this week.
In Gaza City, residents were defiant, promising not to leave in the event of a new Israeli ground offensive. Umm Imran told Al Jazeera that there was nowhere safe in Gaza.
'They say go south, go to al-Mawasi, but there is nowhere safe any more – north, south, east or west. No one and nowhere is safe. We will stay here.' Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said residents were unable to sleep on Friday night after the announcement by Israel.
'People are wondering what's going to happen to them, what's going to be left of Gaza if Israel moves on with its approved plan to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, starting with Gaza City,' he said.
The Israeli plan has also been condemned by the foreign ministers of Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
In a joint statement on Saturday, the diplomats warned that Israel's plan will 'aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages, and further risk the mass displacement of civilians'.
'Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law.' Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also urged Muslim nations to work in unison to oppose Israel's plan.
Speaking at a joint news conference in El Alamein with his Egyptian counterpart after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Fidan said members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation had been called to an emergency meeting to tackle the crisis.
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