Nowhere left to run: Gaza faces relentless bombardment, starvation
6 Min Read
"Israel" escalates its attacks on Gaza, killing dozens as starvation and a worsening humanitarian crisis grip the besieged Palestinian enclave.
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Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli army airstrike on Yaffa School, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 23, 2025 (AP)
The Israeli military has intensified its assault on the Gaza Strip, continuing the campaign of genocide against the Palestinian population.
A barrage of airstrikes, artillery shelling, and drone attacks has resulted in dozens of casualties across the enclave, particularly in the northern, central, and southern regions.
Intensifying the already dire situation, the Israeli occupation military issued an evacuation order for Palestinians residing in the northern areas of al-Turkman, al-Jadida, and northeastern al-Zaytun, ahead of a planned strike.
On Friday, the Civil Defense in Gaza announced the recovery of 11 additional bodies from the rubble of a residential home bombed by Israeli forces a day earlier in the Ard Halawa area of Jabalia, in northern Gaza. The death toll from that single airstrike now stands at 23 martyrs.
80 killed in a few hours
According to Al Mayadeen's correspondent, at least 80 people, most of them children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes from early Thursday through the early hours of Friday.
These include victims of a strike on al-Mansoura Street in the al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, where one person was killed, and another strike targeting al-Farabi School, which shelters displaced families in central Gaza City, leaving at least three people killed and several others injured.
Our correspondent also reported two injuries from an Israeli drone strike in the New Camp area, northwest of al-Nuseirat and artillery shelling targeting al-Bureij camp in central Gaza.
Elsewhere in Gaza City, intense Israeli artillery shelling targeted the neighborhoods of al-Zaytun and al-Shujaiya, accompanied by the use of smoke shells. A quadcopter drone also opened fire on the eastern parts of the city.
In the al-Shujaiya neighborhood, one person was confirmed killed after a strike on al-Nazzaz Street, and rescue efforts are ongoing with victims still trapped under the rubble.
North, center, and south: There is nowhere to run
In southern Gaza, Israeli forces bombed two residential homes belonging to the Sharab and al-Amour families in Khan Younis, raising the death toll from those attacks to 19.
Emergency teams are still working to recover additional victims near the Islamic University, where one of the homes was located. Meanwhile, an Israeli drone strike targeted civilians on Salah al-Din Street.
Additional strikes in southern Gaza included an attack on al-Manara, east of Khan Younis, that killed four people, and an airstrike on al-Fukhari, which left nine killed or injured.
A separate strike on the Qizan al-Najjar area also killed three civilians. In Aabasan al-Kabira, Israeli military vehicles opened fire on residential neighborhoods, while fires erupted in agricultural lands in the al-Sanati area due to heavy Israeli shelling and smoke bomb use.
In central Gaza, Israeli warplanes struck areas in and around the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, including a home near the al-Zawayda Club, and shelled al-Baraka, south of Deir al-Balah, injuring several civilians. Artillery also pounded the vicinity of the Islamic University in Khan Younis, leaving multiple casualties.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported at least 26 people killed in Israeli attacks since dawn on Friday. Separately, nine people were killed or injured in a strike on a home east of al-Fukhari and four more were confirmed dead in an airstrike on a residence in al-Manara, eastern Khan Younis.
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Rising death toll and deepening humanitarian crisis
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate rapidly. According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, 52 people—50 of them children—have died from starvation and malnutrition amid ongoing restrictions on aid and basic supplies.
Since March 18, 2025, the Ministry of Health has documented 2,062 deaths and 5,375 injuries in Gaza. Since the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023, the total Palestinian death toll has climbed to 51,439, with 117,416 others wounded.
WFP says it has run out of food in Gaza
Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced Friday that it has fully exhausted its food supplies for families in Gaza.
“Today, WFP delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens in the Gaza Strip. These kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days,” the UN agency stated.
For weeks, these hot meals kitchens have served as the only consistent source of food aid for the population. Although they reached only half of Gaza’s residents and met just 25% of their daily nutritional needs, they remained a critical lifeline, WFP noted.
WFP has fully depleted its food stocks in #Gaza.
— World Food Programme (@WFP) April 25, 2025
Today, the last supplies were delivered to hot meal kitchens — Gaza’s only steady source of food for weeks. These kitchens will run out of ingredients in the coming days.
Read full statement.🔗https://t.co/OQCpJQcMfg pic.twitter.com/QaXY5CsbHx
All 25 bakeries supported by the WFP were forced to shut down on March 31 due to the depletion of wheat flour and cooking fuel. That same week, WFP's distribution of food parcels—each containing two weeks' worth of supplies per family—also came to an end.
“WFP is also deeply concerned about the severe lack of safe water and fuel for cooking – forcing people to scavenge for items to burn to cook a meal,” the statement said.
It further noted that "this is the longest closure" the Gaza Strip has experienced, severely undermining already fragile markets and food systems.
The WFP emphasized that food prices have surged by as much as 1,400% compared to levels during the ceasefire, while essential commodities remain scarce.
It underscored that these conditions have raised serious concerns about malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and the elderly.
The agency asserted that more than 116,000 metric tonnes of food assistance—sufficient to feed one million people for up to four months—are currently positioned at aid corridors and ready to be delivered by WFP and its partners as soon as "Israel" reopens the crossings.
“The situation inside the Gaza Strip has once again reached a breaking point," WFP warned. "People are running out of ways to cope, and the fragile gains made during the short ceasefire have unravelled.”ress made during the brief ceasefire has been lost.”
The agency called on all parties to prioritize the needs of civilians, allow the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
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