More Gazans perish amid Israeli airstrikes, engineered starvation
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Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli strikes and starvation killed more civilians, raising the death toll to 62,819, with famine deaths climbing to 313.
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A Palestinian boy walks amid debris after Israeli military strikes in a tent camp for displaced people near al-Aqsa Hospital, in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP)
The Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that continued Israeli bombardment and a deepening food crisis have killed more Palestinians across the besieged enclave, warning that starvation and malnutrition are claiming lives at an alarming pace.
According to the ministry, Israeli artillery fire struck multiple areas of Gaza early Wednesday. Two Palestinians were killed and several others were injured in a shelling attack on a home in Gaza City’s al-Daraj neighborhood, while a child was killed near Kissufim, east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
In Khan Younis, three people, including a woman and a child, were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced families in the Asdaa area. Heavy shelling and gunfire from Israeli vehicles also continued in northern Khan Younis.
Systematic destruction of Gaza neighborhoods ongoing
The Israeli occupation has continued its systematic destruction of residential neighborhoods, particularly in eastern Gaza City and the al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the south. Bombardment also struck the towns of Jabalia and al-Nazla in the north.
Israeli airstrikes persisted throughout the night, contributing to the widespread razing of civilian homes and infrastructure.
On Monday alone, 87 Palestinians were martyred by Israeli fire and missiles, including six journalists, further escalating the humanitarian crisis.
Overall toll of war
Amid all these deliberate attacks since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry said that as of August 27, 2025, at least 62,895 Palestinians have been killed and 158,927 have been injured. Moreover, since March 18, 2025, the day "Israel" reneged on the ceasefire agreement, 11,050 people have been killed and 46,886 have been wounded.
The Ministry stressed that many victims remain trapped under rubble or in areas inaccessible to medics and civil defense teams due to ongoing bombardment.
Toll from aggression on Nasser Medical Complex rises to 22
Meanwhile, the death toll from the Israeli attack on the Nasser Medical Complex two days ago has now risen to 22, as two more people were martyred having succumbed to their lethal wounds, the Ministry of Health reported.
On Monday, the Israeli occupation carried out a massacre at the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza on Monday, striking the facility twice, targeting civilians and members of the civil defense who were targeted in the second strike as they rushed to aid victims of the first.
Footage taken in the immediate aftermath of the strike showed smoke rising and debris scattered outside the hospital. Palestinians rushed to aid the wounded, carrying bloodied bodies and severed limbs into the medical complex.
According to the report, one body was seen hanging from the top floor of the targeted building as a man screamed below. Among the injured was a woman in medical scrubs and a white coat, who was rushed in on a stretcher with a heavily bandaged leg and clothes soaked in blood.
Rising death toll from famine, malnutrition
When Gaza residents are not killed by bombardments, they are falling prey to engineered starvation. The Ministry of Health reported that in 24 hours, 10 more Palestinians died from hunger and malnutrition, including two children, bringing the total number of starvation-related deaths since the start of the war to 313, of whom 119 were children.
Hospitals on Tuesday also recorded three adult deaths linked to hunger, raising concerns that famine is rapidly worsening.
95% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents now have no income
The Gaza Government Media Office accused the Israeli occupation of systematically engineering starvation, noting that more than 95% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents now have no income and cannot afford food even when limited supplies appear in markets.
It said Israeli authorities continue to close crossings, blocking the entry of 430 essential food items. Over the past 30 days, only 14% of Gaza’s required aid needs were met, leaving an 86% deficit in supplies. Aid distribution has also been obstructed, with reports of convoys being blocked or looted.
Among the food products barred from entering Gaza are eggs, red and white meat, fish, cheese and dairy products, fruit, vegetables, nutritional supplements, and fortified foods for pregnant women and chronically ill patients.
The statement condemned the Israeli occupation's policy of starvation, holding it, along with the United States and other governments backing the war, fully responsible for the war crimes and genocide being perpetrated against the people of Gaza.
It urged Arab states and the wider international community to act immediately to pressure “Israel” to reopen border crossings and allow the full entry of humanitarian aid to save civilian lives.
