On Sunday, Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 64 people, medical sources told Al Jazeera, as Palestinians attempted to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
Earlier on Sunday, when the death toll was at 35, Hind Khoudary, a reporter for Al Jazeera, said 10 children were among those killed. She also reported shortages at the Al Aqsa Hospital due to the Israeli blockade on all goods entering Gaza, which was imposed on March 2.
“We’re talking about more than three weeks of zero trucks entering the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities continue to prevent any aid or medicine to come in,” Khoudary said.
The Israeli blockade is also causing severe food shortages in Gaza, leaving families struggling to find meals for Eid. Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian chief, said on Friday that food shipments being blocked by Israel are rotting at the Gaza border.
“All entry points into Gaza are closed. At the border, food is rotting. Medicine is expiring. Vital medical equipment is stuck. If the basic principles of humanitarian law still count, the international community must act to uphold them,” Fletcher said.
Also on Sunday, the bodies of 14 Palestinian rescue workers who were executed by Israeli forces were recovered and brought to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), eight of the dead were PRCS medics, five worked for Gaza’s Civil Defense, and one worked for a UN agency.
The rescue workers went missing last week near the southern city of Rafah about a week ago. On Saturday, the Israeli military acknowledged it attacked the medics, claiming it targeted what it thought were “Hamas vehicles” but turned out to be rescue vehicles.
“After an initial inquiry, it was determined that some of the suspicious vehicles … were ambulances and fire trucks,” the IDF said, according to The Cradle.
Gaza’s Health Ministry released a statement condemning the Israeli execution of the rescue workers as a “heinous crime.” The ministry said some of the bodies “were handcuffed and had sustained injuries to the head and chest and were buried in a deep hole to prevent them from being identified.”
