Medical sources reported that at least 136 Palestinians were killed in the last few hours, including 38 Palestinians killed while waiting for aid, and three children who died of starvation due to malnutrition. This comes amid a lack of food and the blockade of aid entry since the crossings were closed in early March.
In the southern Gaza Strip, 32 Palestinians were killed by gunfire targeting aid workers north of Rafah. Eight bodies were recovered from eastern Khan Yunis, and 21 others were recovered from areas housing displaced persons' tents, near the Dream Hall, the Japanese Quarter, and Taiba Towers. Child Yahya Fadi al-Najjar also died of malnutrition.
In the central Gaza Strip, 11 Palestinians were killed in a bombing of the town of Az-Zawaida, and three others were killed in the Bureij refugee camp, while a child was killed near the Wadi Gaza Bridge by Israeli occupation forces.
In Gaza City, intense shelling killed six people, including four children, in the Daraj neighborhood and four others while trying to reach aid in the south of the city. The shelling also killed four Palestinians, including two children, near the Sheikh Radwan Bridge, in addition to casualties in Shuja'iyya, Zeitoun, Thawra Street, Tal al-Hawa, al-Sahaba, and al-Tuffah neighborhood.
In the northern Gaza Strip, several martyrs fell in Beit Lahia and Jabalia, including an elderly man killed by a drone in al-Atatra, and a young man in Sheikh Zayed roundabout.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced Saturday evening that hospital emergency departments were receiving an unprecedented number of citizens suffering from severe hunger and exhaustion, warning of "the imminent threat of death" for hundreds whose bodies have lost the ability to withstand the effects of hunger.
"Hundreds of people whose bodies have emaciated will be at risk of certain death from starvation," the ministry said in a brief statement, stressing that the famine has spread catastrophically following the closure of Israeli crossings and the prevention of the entry of food and medical supplies.
The specter of famine looms over nearly one million Palestinians in the Al-Mawasi area in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel has been blocking the entry of food supplies for more than 100 days.
Meanwhile, the Israeli navy arrested five Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza while they were trying to catch a livelihood. According to the Fishermen's Syndicate, the sea has become the only available means of obtaining food, despite the deadly risks.
Despite the warnings and dangers, some fishermen continue to venture out to sea, even short distances of just a few meters, in attempts fraught with danger and death, to secure the minimum amount of food for their families.
Throughout the months of genocide, the sea was the only outlet for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where they sought refuge, especially during times of high temperatures. Meanwhile, the occupation army vowed to deal with any violation of the restrictions imposed on the maritime zone adjacent to the Strip.
While UN agencies warn of a worsening crisis, they have so far refused to officially declare famine, despite the availability of international standards. According to the Government Media Office in Gaza, more than 650,000 children and 60,000 pregnant women are at risk of death due to hunger and lack of healthcare.
The office reported that the death toll from hunger has risen to 620 people since October 7, 2023, including 69 children, while 112 children are admitted to hospitals daily for treatment for severe emaciation.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) also appealed to the world for help in saving more than two million people, including one million children, who are at risk of starvation in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA stated that it had enough food to feed the entire population for three months, but was unable to deliver it.
Since March 2, 2025, Israel has closed all crossings with the Gaza Strip and prevented the entry of food and medical aid, causing famine to spread within the Strip.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide, with American support, left more than 199,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
