Death toll soars in Gaza as fears of displacement grow

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 15:08
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Israeli airstrikes hit homes, refugee camps, and shelters across Gaza on Sunday, prompting warnings of a worsening humanitarian crisis.

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Palestinian child Omar Al-Zaqzouq, 7, mourns over the body of his 2-year-old brother Malek, who was killed in an Israeli military strike, during his funeral outside Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Monday, September 22, 2025. (AP)

Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed 15 Palestinians since dawn on Sunday, most of them in Gaza City, as residents endured heavy fire and widespread destruction targeting homes in what local sources described as an attempt at forcible displacement.

Two Palestinians were killed by an Israeli drone strike in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, southwest of Gaza City, where fires engulfed homes under continued bombardment, leaving many Palestinian families trapped inside high-rise buildings.

Israel did this

pic.twitter.com/33oAKxrEDd
— Eye on Gaza (@arisaqz1) September 21, 2025

In the al-Mughraqa area, south of Gaza City, several Palestinians were injured when Israeli occupation forces targeted civilians gathering firewood. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of al-Zaytoun Club in the southeast of the city.

Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said it received the bodies of 10 martyrs over the past 24 hours, including four women and two girls, along with 18 wounded, following strikes on central Gaza refugee camps and an attack on civilians near al-Mughraqa.

Elsewhere, two Palestinians were killed and others were wounded when an Israeli drone strike hit a tent sheltering forcibly displaced families in al-Sawarha, west of al-Zawaida.

Palestinian sources also reported dozens of casualties after what they described as a massacre carried out by Israeli occupation forces against aid seekers in the al-Sudaniya area, northwest of Gaza.

Casualty figures surge amid humanitarian crisis

Hospitals received the bodies of 61 martyrs and 220 injuries in the past 24 hours, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced in its daily report on Monday. Many victims remain trapped beneath debris and along roads, unreachable due to continued bombardment.

Since October 7, 2023, as of September 22, 2025, the death toll of the Israeli genocide in Gaza has surged to 65,344 Palestinians, in addition to 166,795 injured.

The death toll among Palestinians killed while seeking food aid in designated distribution zones has now climbed to 2,523, with more than 18,496 others wounded, according to the report.

Rantisi Children’s Hospital and Eye Hospital out of service by Israeli strikes

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Rantisi Children’s Hospital and the Eye Hospital have gone out of service due to the continuous targeting of the surrounding areas. The Medical Relief health center in Gaza City has also been destroyed.

The Ministry noted that Rantisi Hospital came under direct attack just a few days ago, sustaining severe damage. It stressed that the Eye Hospital is the only public facility providing ophthalmology services in Gaza Governorate, while Rantisi offers specialized services unavailable at other hospitals.

According to the Ministry, Israeli occupation forces are deliberately and systematically dismantling the healthcare system in Gaza as part of what it described as a genocidal campaign against the Strip.

The statement further highlighted that no safe routes exist for patients and the wounded to reach hospitals and medical facilities. Patients also face immense difficulties accessing the Jordanian field hospital and Al-Quds Hospital due to the ongoing bombardment.

The Health Ministry renewed its urgent appeal to all relevant international bodies to ensure protection for health institutions and medical staff in Gaza.

'Israel' enforces starvation policy amid 10-day closure of Zikim crossing

The Government Media Office in Gaza said that Israeli authorities have kept the Zikim crossing closed for ten consecutive days, preventing the entry of aid trucks. It added that the Israeli occupation has also reduced humanitarian assistance through the Karem Abu Salem and Kissufim crossings, which were intermittently shut down in recent weeks.

According to the statement, Gaza requires over 600 aid trucks daily to meet the minimum needs of its 2.4 million residents, at a time when the Strip is facing near-total infrastructure collapse.

The office held "Israel" and its allies fully responsible for worsening the humanitarian catastrophe, calling on the United Nations, Arab and Islamic countries, and the international community to act immediately to reopen the crossings and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.