At least 35 Palestinians were killed and several others were injured on Friday in Israeli attacks on Makhzam and al-Maghazi camps in the center of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian media, citing statements from medical sources, said 20 Palestinians were killed due to Israeli attacks on several homes in al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that the Israeli soldiers opened fire on an aid convoy returning from northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Friday that 21,507 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since October 7, while 55,915 people have been injured.
187 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
Forty-eight journalists have been arrested in the occupied West Bank since October 7. In Gaza, 106 journalists have been killed and eight detained.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza, to escape the relentless bombardment in the central strip. Israel’s air and ground offensive has forced 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.
The heart of Israel’s campaign appears to be urban refugee camps in central Gaza, including Bureij, Nuseirat, and Maghazi, where entire buildings have been levelled. The city of Khan Younis in the south is also a battleground, with ongoing fighting and rocket attacks by militants primarily targeting Israel’s southern regions.
International aid group Mercy Corps has warned that half a million people in Gaza are on the brink of “catastrophic hunger and starvation.” This revelation comes just a week after the UN Security Council passed a resolution aimed at increasing humanitarian aid to the embattled region. Kate Phillips-Barrasso, Vice President of Global Policy and Advocacy for Mercy Corps, stated that the amount of lifesaving goods allowed into Gaza remains insufficient to meet the basic and critical needs of its residents. Even with the recent opening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the impact has been minimal.
“Once trucks reach their destination, the safe delivery of any kind of assistance is almost impossible due to the ongoing security risks,” Phillips-Barrasso said.
