Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that Israeli forces killed 50 Palestinians over the previous 24-hour period as relentless US-backed Israeli attacks continue across the Strip, amid Israel’s preparation to escalate its genocidal war.
The Health Ministry said that the bodies of another four Palestinians killed by previous attacks were recovered. “A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the streets, where ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them at this time,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.
On top of the violent deaths, Palestinians continue to starve to death due to the Israeli blockade and restrictions on aid. The Health Ministry said that it recorded four malnutrition deaths over 24 hours. “This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 239, including 106 children,” it said.
Among those violently killed by the IDF were desperate Palestinians seeking food aid. The Health Ministry said that 22 aid seekers were killed and another 269 were injured. Since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating at the end of May, the Health Ministry has recorded the deaths of 1,881 aid seekers and the injuries of 13,863.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that at least five Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire near an aid center north of the southern city of Rafah. The news agency also reported Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Khan Younis and Gaza City.
At least eight Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombing of a house in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood. Israel has significantly ramped up its attacks on Gaza City as it’s preparing to launch a new offensive to take it over, a plan that involves forcibly displacing 1.2 million civilians with artillery fire.
The Health Ministry said that the latest violence has brought its death toll since October 7, 2023, to 61,776, and the number of wounded to 154,906. Studies have found that the ministry’s numbers are likely a significant undercount.
