Eight more Palestinians, including two children, died from malnutrition caused by the Israeli blockade in Gaza over the past 24 hours, raising the total famine-related death toll to 281 since the onset of the humanitarian crisis, local health officials said Saturday.
Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, said in a post on X that 114 of those killed by starvation are children. “The famine is silently ravaging the bodies of civilians, depriving children of their right to life, and turning tents and hospitals into daily scenes of tragedy,” he said.
At the same time, at least 25 Palestinians were killed in a new wave of Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.
Artillery fire struck tents sheltering displaced families in the Asdaa area northwest of Khan Younis, killing 16 people, including six children and an infant. Several others were injured.
Israeli drones also hit homes in the Maghazi and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza, leaving multiple casualties, while two civilians waiting for aid were shot dead in separate incidents near Khan Younis and the Israeli-controlled Netzarim corridor.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israel’s controversial unilateral “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” aid mechanism has turned distribution points into “death traps,” with at least 2,060 people killed and more than 15,000 wounded while waiting for aid since late May.
Israel has killed nearly 62,300 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, according to the ministry. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which faces a worsening famine alongside relentless bombardment.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its conduct in Gaza.
