Israeli forces are pounding the enclave while more Palestinians starve to death [Getty]
Israeli forces killed over 70 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, heavily pounding the enclave, while two more people were starved to death as a result of Israel’s food and aid restrictions.
On Saturday morning, Israeli forces killed at least 34 Palestinians across Gaza, with eight of them queuing up to urgently seek aid amid the ongoing starvation and blockade on resources.
Israel has ramped up its attacks on Gaza City in recent weeks, with leaders pressing that they will accelerate their plan to occupy the area.
Early on Saturday, staff at the al-Shifa Medical Complex said a Palestinian had been killed and several wounded after an Israeli artillery attack struck south of Gaza City.
US President Donald Trump has appeared to support the occupation, after he on Friday suggested it would be “safer” for captives in the enclave if Israel attacked the area quickly.
“I actually think they’re safer in many ways, if they went in fast and did it,” he said.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has doubled down on his calls for the total destruction of Gaza City.
“The gates of hell will soon open on the heads of Hamas’ murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war,” he said in a post on X.
In response, Hamas issued a statement saying his comments amount to “confession of committing a crime that amounts to ethnic cleansing”.
The comments come amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. Gaza’s health ministry said the death toll from starvation has now topped 273, with at least 112 of them being children.
The UN raised serious concerns about starvation in Gaza, after famine was officially declared on Friday.
The UN agency UNICEF called it a “real child survival crisis,” stressing that it had already become “too late” for some children due to the malnutrition-related illnesses they face.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, urged on Israel to allow them to be reinstated in the Strip, after they were banned and replaced with the widely criticised US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
“UNRWA’s warehouses alone in Jordan and Egypt are full. There is enough food, medicines and hygiene supplies ready to fill 6,000 trucks,” UNRWA said in a statement.
Meanwhile, contractors and former military personnel working at GHF sites are responsible for the killing of over 1,000 aid-seekers at sites since they started operations in May. They have also been accused by aid groups of forcing Palestinians into militarised zones and not allowing aid to reach the most vulnerable communities.
Israel’s continued bombardment and starvation of Gaza comes amid mounting international criticism.
On Friday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned Tel Aviv for the forced starvation of Palestinians and the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s deep concern in light of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report and the official declaration of famine in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read.
It went on to “condemn the genocidal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation”.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and has been determined to be a genocide by the leading rights group Amnesty International.
