Israeli genocide in Gaza stokes famine, trauma; death toll exceeds 51K
6 Min Read
With aid blocked and hospitals on the brink, Gaza is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
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In this image from an Associated Press video, medic Abed Al Aziz Bardini mourns next to the body of his mother on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Deir al-Balah on the Gaza Strip (AP)
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Thursday that 39 Palestinians were killed in 24 hours, with a martyr's body retrieved from the rubble, amid ongoing Israeli assaults. Another 73 Palestinians were injured during the same period.
According to the Ministry, Civil Defense and ambulance crews remain unable to reach several victims still trapped under the rubble or lying in the streets due to the intensity of the Israeli bombardment.
Since the Israeli genocide began on October 7, 2023, the total number of Palestinians killed has risen to 51,065, with 116,505 others wounded.
The latest figures include 1,691 killings and 4,464 injuries recorded since March 18, 2025, reflecting a sharp increase following the Israeli resumption of heavy air and ground assaults across the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, health officials continue to warn of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis as hospitals face severe shortages of medical supplies, fuel, and staff amid the severe Israeli blockade.
IOF intensify attacks across Gaza Strip, wipe out whole families
Israeli military operations across the Gaza Strip escalated on Thursday, with multiple strikes reported in both the north and south of the besieged territory. According to Al Mayadeen's correspondent, the latest round of Israeli aggression has left several Palestinians killed and many others wounded.
Artillery shelling was reported east of Gaza City, as Israeli forces continued targeting populated areas. In the northern Gaza Strip, six Palestinians were killed after an Israeli strike hit a displacement tent in the Razan area of Beit Lahia.
An Israeli drone also launched a strike on Jabalia refugee camp, resulting in several casualties.
In the south, the city of Khan Younis came under renewed Israeli airstrikes. According to our correspondent, one of the attacks involved the use of incendiary munitions, which targeted a displacement tent belonging to the Abu al-Rous family. The strike incinerated the shelter and killed every family member inside, marking yet another harrowing massacre.
Is it self-defense when you bomb the tents of displaced people in Gaza?
— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) April 17, 2025
This is a genocide. pic.twitter.com/kYKy9rfxwE
Concurrently, Israeli artillery reportedly continued to pound eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City with intense shelling.
In a related development, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that an Israeli raid targeting Al-Ayyoubiya School, which shelters forcibly displaced people in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza, resulted in multiple casualties.
Gaza nears starvation as border closures choke humanitarian lifeline
Gaza is teetering on the edge of famine as "Israel’s" ongoing blockade of all border crossings has prevented humanitarian aid from entering the besieged enclave, according to aid organizations and residents.
Since March 18, conditions have deteriorated rapidly. The crossings, shut since March 2, have effectively halted food, fuel, water, and medical supplies from reaching the two million Palestinians besieged inside.
“There is no bread, no bread at all. There is no flour. The crossings are closed. The children are starving,” said Ahmed Abu Mustafa, a Khan Younis resident, as quoted by ABC News.
“Even if we had flour … the bakeries don’t have fuel to bake or cook food,” he stressed.
Residents across the Gaza Strip have reported mass bakery closures, with long lines and desperate families hoping for a chance to secure food. Moath Fayez Abu Ramadan, also from Khan Younis, has been waiting daily outside a closed bakery. “I have been here since six in the morning, waiting for the bakery to open so I can feed my children,” he told ABC. “My wife was killed in the war, and my children need someone to take care of them and provide food.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on March 31 that its supplies in Gaza were completely depleted, and resupply has become impossible due to the siege. “We are in a famine in every sense of the word,” said Umm Mohammed, a displaced woman from Rafah. “No matter how much we describe it, it is a famine. What is the fault of the children?”
Despite mounting pressure, Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that "Israel" would maintain the blockade, stating that “blocking this aid is one of the main pressure tools that prevents Hamas from using this measure vis-à-vis the population.”
Gaza’s children maimed, traumatized as war rages on
Aid agencies continue to sound the alarm. UNICEF’s Rosalia Bollen described the toll on Gaza’s children as “devastating". with hundreds killed and injured since mid-March. “Burns, shrapnel lodged in the bodies of children, children who’ve had their limbs amputated,” she said, calling for immediate de-escalation. “The most impactful action that governments need to take is to ensure that the ceasefire is reestablished. That is the most important measure to save children’s lives.”
Beyond physical harm, the psychological toll on children is growing. “Children are deeply traumatized by what they’ve witnessed,” Bollen explained. “Today, every child in Gaza needs mental health support.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) echoed these concerns. “After a period of relative calm, violence has returned to Gaza and the civilian population once again is bearing the brunt,” said ICRC spokesperson Hisham Muhanna. “The entry of humanitarian aid – Gaza’s main lifeline – has been suspended … the situation is even more dire.”
Muhanna said the ICRC continues to operate, with community kitchens providing what is often the only daily meal for many. But flour shortages and fuel scarcity are jeopardizing even these efforts. “Flour supplies are dwindling, and many bakeries have had to shut down,” he warned. “In short order, the impacts will be acute on nutrition and basic health.”
Hospitals are also reaching a breaking point. With no fuel and medical staff struggling to reach facilities safely, essential services are collapsing. “Hospitals cannot operate without health care staff,” said Muhanna. “With no proper sanitation and limited access to safe drinking water, the danger of communicable disease outbreaks is closer by the day.”
Umm Mohammed added, “We fear hunger. We no longer fear death; we have reached the point where we wish for death. … When your child asks for bread — his most basic right — what do you say?”
As aid groups continue to work under increasingly impossible conditions, they warn that without swift and sustained international intervention to reopen crossings and restore supply lines, Gaza could face irreversible humanitarian collapse.
“The suffering in Gaza isn’t just physical but also psychological,” said Bollen. “Children in Gaza are in need of literally everything: food, safe water, health care, and emotional support.”
