Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli forces killed 123 Palestinians and wounded 437 over the previous 24-hour period as the IDF is intensifying strikes on Gaza City and areas to the north.
Heavy US-backed Israeli attacks have continued throughout the day on Wednesday, and medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 45 people were killed in Gaza City. The IDF has ramped up its attacks on Gaza City since the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to completely take over the city.
Residents of Gaza City told Reuters that many homes were destroyed by overnight Israeli airstrikes in the eastern neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Shujaiyya. Al Jazeera journalists also reported intensified attacks on areas to the north of Gaza City, including Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and Jabalia, cities that have already been almost entirely destroyed.
Israeli troops have continued massacring desperate Palestinians seeking aid. The Health Ministry said that it recorded the deaths of 21 Palestinians who were attempting to get food, bringing the total number of aid seekers killed since the end of May to 1,859.
Staff at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, told The Associated Press that at least 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in an area about 1.8 miles from a distribution site run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Another five Palestinians were killed while trying to reach an aid site near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza.
On top of the violent deaths, Palestinians continue to die of starvation due to the US-backed Israeli blockade. The Health Ministry said that it recorded eight deaths due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including three children. “This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 235, including 106 children,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.
The Health Ministry said that the violent death toll since October 7, 2023, has reached 61,722, and the number of wounded has climbed to 154,525. Studies have found that the ministry’s numbers are likely a significant undercount.
