Gaza reeling under deadly strikes, rising famine amid Israeli siege

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen
Today 15:39

The Palestinian Health Ministry reports dozens killed in brutal Israeli strikes, while famine-related deaths mount as aid distribution sites are repeatedly targeted.

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Three-year-old Palestinian child Amr al-Hams, who has brain damage caused by an Israeli strike on his family's tent in April, lies in a bed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 (AP)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Thursday that hospitals received the bodies of 71 martyrs, including four retrieved from under the rubble, and 399 injuries over 24 hours. Many victims remain trapped beneath debris and along roads, unreachable due to continued bombardment.

Since October 7, 2023, as of August 28, 2025, the death toll of the Israeli genocide in Gaza has surged to 62,966 Palestinians, in addition to 159,266 injuries.

Since March 18, 2025, the toll has risen to 9,440 Palestinians killed and 47,225 wounded.

The Israeli genocide is ongoing

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire struck multiple areas across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least eight Palestinians since dawn, according to reports from Al Mayadeen’s correspondent.

Al-Awda Hospital in al-Nuseirat confirmed the arrival of one fatality and several wounded after Israeli fire targeted starved Palestinians gathered near an aid distribution point. Over 24 hours, the hospital reported five more killings, including a woman and a child, along with 17 injuries. Among the wounded were three children and another woman.

Additional casualties were recorded across the enclave. Six Palestinians were killed in southern Gaza while waiting for humanitarian aid, according to the Nasser Medical Complex. Four others were killed when "Israel" targeted a home on al-Zawiya Street in Gaza City.

Concurrently, helicopter gunfire targeted al-Shuhada Street in the al-Shati refugee camp, prompting emergency crews to rush to the scene. Artillery fire also hit a home in Deir al-Balah, causing significant damage.

In the south, a residential tower in Hamad City, northwest of Khan Younis, was targeted.

The attacks add to the mounting civilian toll in Gaza, where hospitals remain under immense pressure as strikes continue across the besieged enclave.

Famine strangles Gaza

Moreover, as the Israeli-made famine grips Gaza, 22 starved Palestinians were killed since early morning and over 203 were injured while trying to receive aid at designated "aid distribution sites" and were later transported to hospitals, as per the Ministry's report.

The death toll among Palestinians killed while seeking food aid in designated distribution zones has now climbed to 2,180, with more than 16,046 others wounded, according to the report.

The report added that the death toll from starvation and malnutrition in the besieged Strip, with the death of four Palestinians, including two children, has risen to at least 317, among them 121 children.

WFP chief warns Gaza ‘at breaking point’

The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that famine-stricken Gaza is “at breaking point,” calling for the urgent reopening of 200 food distribution points to deliver aid to those most in need.

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain made the appeal following a visit to the besieged Palestinian enclave, where she witnessed the escalating humanitarian crisis amid "Israel’s" ongoing war on the Strip.

“Enough is enough,” McCain said, describing desperation in Gaza as “soaring” and stressing that she had seen the suffering “firsthand".

Her remarks come just days after the United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza, citing what it described as the “systematic obstruction” of aid deliveries by "Israel". Israeli authorities rejected the report, dismissing it as “fabricated".

Harrowing scenes in Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah

McCain toured Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, visiting a nutrition clinic treating malnourished children and meeting displaced mothers struggling to secure food.

“I met starving children receiving treatment for severe malnutrition, and I saw photos of when they were healthy. Today they are unrecognizable,” she stressed.

The WFP official emphasized the need to revive Gaza’s “vast and trusted” network of food distribution points, community kitchens, and bakeries to prevent further loss of life.

“It is urgent that the right conditions are in place so we can reach the most vulnerable and save lives,” she urged.