Starved, bombed, abandoned: Gaza death toll nears 61,000
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"Israel" continues its deadly assaults on Gaza, killing aid seekers, women, and displaced civilians amid a worsening humanitarian crisis and ongoing siege.
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Palestinian woman Raika Abu Sahloul, 40, cares for her 4-year-old niece, Layan, as she sits despondently among her dolls at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 4, 2025 (AP)
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Monday that hospitals received the bodies of 94 martyrs, including four retrieved from under the rubble, and 439 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 4, 2025, the death toll of the Israeli genocide in Gaza has surged to 60,933 Palestinians, in addition to 150,027 injuries.
Since March 18, 2025, the toll has risen to 9,440 Palestinians killed and 37,986 wounded.
Moreover, as the Israeli-made famine looms over Gaza, 29 starved Palestinians were killed since early morning and over 300 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 1,516, with more than 10,067 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 five Palestinians, has risen to at least 180, among them 93 children.
New fatal factor joins Gaza’s daily report amid health system collapse
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has confirmed three deaths from Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), including two children under the age of 15, amid a dangerous surge in acute flaccid paralysis cases linked to severe malnutrition and unchecked infections.
Medical examinations have identified the presence of non-polio intestinal viruses, indicating an environment highly conducive to the uncontrolled spread of infectious diseases. Health officials attribute the worsening situation to prolonged deprivation and inadequate access to essential medical supplies under the ongoing Israeli blockade.
Efforts to save the two children failed due to the absence of critical treatments, further highlighting the deadly impact of medical shortages across the Strip.
In a stark warning, the Ministry stated that without immediate intervention, Gaza could see a broader outbreak of GBS and other infectious diseases. “These are not just deaths,” the Ministry said in a statement, “they are a warning of a real, potential infectious disaster.”
The Ministry is urgently calling on international and humanitarian organizations to step in with life-saving medical aid and to push for an end to the blockade, which continues to cripple Gaza’s health infrastructure and exacerbate its humanitarian crisis.
Israeli genocide ongoing
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Gaza reported on Monday that at least one person was killed and several others injured in an initial toll after Israeli invading units targeted starved Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid near the Netzarim axis earlier this morning.
In a separate incident, two Palestinians were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a group of people in Beit Lahia, located in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Emergency and Ambulance Service in Gaza confirmed the killing of three people, including a woman, and said more than 20 others were wounded near an aid center north of Rafah.
Meanwhile, Al-Awda Hospital in al-Nuseirat announced it had retrieved the body of one martyr and 12 injured individuals following an Israeli strike on starved Palestinians gathered near an aid distribution site on Salah al-Din Street, south of Wadi Gaza in the central part of the enclave.
Earlier at dawn, several Palestinians were killed and others injured when an Israeli airstrike targeted a house in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
Gaza receives only a fraction of needed aid trucks amid worsening crisis
The Gaza Government Media Office released figures revealing a severe shortfall in humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip since July 27, when "Israel" reportedly allowed limited entry of aid trucks.
Between July 27 and August 3, Gaza received only 674 aid trucks, averaging 84 trucks per day. This falls drastically short of the estimated 4,800 trucks, approximately 600 trucks daily, needed to sustain the minimum requirements of Gaza’s health, food, and essential service sectors.
Daily truck arrivals fluctuated, with the highest number recorded on July 30 at 112 trucks and the lowest on August 2 with just 36 trucks entering the Strip.
The significant deficit in aid and fuel deliveries highlights the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as the current supply is insufficient to meet the urgent needs of its population.
