In detail, medical sources and eyewitnesses reported that army attacks this morning targeted two residential apartments and gatherings of people waiting for aid in various areas of the Gaza Strip. In the Zarqa area, northeast of Gaza City, the Emergency and Ambulance Service reported the death of a Palestinian woman in an Israeli artillery attack on the area.
On Friday, the Israeli occupation forces killed 66 Palestinians, including 20 aid-seekers, in attacks across the Gaza Strip targeting homes and tents of displaced people and civilians, as well as aid waiting points.
The occupation forces carried out massive bombing operations in several neighborhoods, most notably Zeitoun and Sheikh Radwan, which have witnessed intense attacks as part of Tel Aviv's plan to reoccupy Gaza City.
In the central Gaza Strip, medical sources reported earlier that four Palestinians waiting for aid were killed by Israeli gunfire near the American Distribution Center on the Netzarim axis, which is affiliated with the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation." A Palestinian was also killed and others were injured in an Israeli bombardment targeting the entrance to the city of Deir al-Balah on Salah al-Din Street.
Beyond the supervision of the United Nations and international relief organizations, Tel Aviv began implementing a mechanism on May 27 to distribute aid through the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation," an organization supported by Israel and the United States but rejected by the United Nations.
In the southern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike near the Asdaa area, west of Khan Yunis, while a Palestinian was seriously injured by bullets fired by army vehicles at displaced people's tents in the Asdaa area.
In the northern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian woman and her child were killed, and two others were injured, in an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment belonging to the Daoud family in the al-Karama neighborhood. A Palestinian was also killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment in the al-Shawa and Hasri towers on al-Wahda Street in Gaza City.
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army carried out bombing operations in central and northern Khan Yunis, and warships fired shells toward the city's shores.
In Gaza City, Palestinians experienced a terrifying night, as massive explosions and intense gunfire continued from the early hours of the morning. The sound was heard in and around the Zeitoun neighborhood in the south of the city.
On Friday evening, the Israeli channel i24 News reported that "fierce clashes broke out on the outskirts of Gaza City, including airstrikes and heavy artillery shelling, amid reports of Israeli forces advancing in the area."
The channel did not provide further details, but the report coincided with Israeli media activists circulating news on social media about a series of "difficult" security incidents within the Gaza Strip that resulted in the deaths of soldiers, most notably an ambush in the Zeitoun neighborhood southeast of Gaza City. However, no official announcement was made by the Israeli military or media.
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Famine death toll rises amid ongoing UN warnings
In this context, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced on Saturday that the death toll from systematic Israeli starvation has risen to 332 Palestinians, including 124 children, since October 7, 2023, after recording 10 deaths due to famine and malnutrition, according to a statement on Telegram.
She added, "Since the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) declared famine in Gaza, 54 deaths have been recorded, including 9 children."
According to a medical source, Palestinian infant Rania Ghaban died at Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza due to malnutrition and a lack of medical treatment, amid Israel's ongoing starvation policy, widespread famine, and severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid.
In a related development, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said Saturday that the hospital had recorded approximately 1,000 cases of malnutrition among adult Palestinians over the past three weeks, resulting from Israel's ongoing starvation policy.
Abu Salmiya spoke about the dire humanitarian and health conditions in the city, which has been witnessing intense Israeli attacks as part of a plan to reoccupy it. Abu Salmiya added, "In the past three weeks, we have recorded approximately 1,000 cases of malnutrition among adults, and most of the sick and wounded are suffering from malnutrition."
He explained that "Gaza City hospitals are overcrowded with sick and wounded people, while the situation is becoming increasingly difficult with the intensification of Israeli bombing, which is causing more casualties."
On August 22, the International Committee of the Red Cross (IPC) confirmed in its report that "a famine has occurred in Gaza City (north), and is expected to spread to Deir al-Balah (central) and Khan Yunis (south) by the end of next September." Since March 2, Israel has closed all crossings into Gaza, preventing any humanitarian aid from entering, plunging the Strip into famine despite the backlog of aid trucks at its borders.
On Friday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that nearly one million people in northern Gaza face displacement due to Israel's classification of Gaza City as a "dangerous combat zone." The attacks continue, increasing the risk to civilians and hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid, amid UNRWA warnings of thousands of casualties and a worsening humanitarian situation.
In a related development, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that the Gaza famine is caused by the denial of humanitarian aid, describing the crisis as "unacceptable." He called for an immediate cessation of fighting and the resumption of aid, emphasizing that a just peace requires a two-state solution to ensure the security of Palestinians and Israelis.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
