UN and global outrage grow as Israeli strikes level Gaza neighborhoods and kill journalists, medics, and civilians
Key points:
75 Palestinians killed, 370 wounded in 24 hours of Israeli strikes.
Starvation deaths are rising, with 117 children and adults dead from hunger.
Over 1,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza City since August 6.
GAZA: At least 75 Palestinians were killed and 370 wounded in the past 24 hours as Israel’s assault on Gaza escalates, Palestinian health officials said Wednesday. Three more people also died from starvation, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed by hunger to 117 children and dozens of adults, underscoring what aid groups describe as a man-made famine caused by Israel’s blockade.
The bombardment is focused on Gaza City, where Israel has unleashed tanks, warplanes, and artillery in its push to occupy the enclave’s largest population center. Palestinian Civil Defence said that since August 6, Israeli forces have destroyed more than 1,000 buildings in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods alone, erasing entire residential blocks and forcing thousands of families to flee with no safe shelter.
“Earthquakes, we call it; they want to scare people into leaving their homes,” said Ismail, a 40-year-old Gaza City resident, describing the intensity of the Israeli shelling.
Residents reported heavy strikes on the suburbs of Sabra, Shujayea, and Tuffah, as well as on Jabalia to the north. Roads, homes, and essential infrastructure have been levelled, pushing civilians westward towards the overcrowded coast or further south into al-Mawasi near Khan Younis.
Hospital under fire
International condemnation surged this week after back-to-back Israeli strikes hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists, four health workers, and emergency responders. Press groups and medical organizations described the attack as a blatant violation of international law.
Israel claimed its troops were targeting a Hamas-operated camera allegedly placed on the hospital to observe Israeli troop movements, but it provided no evidence. The site is a well-known broadcast point regularly used by international reporters.
“If this claim were true, there are many means to neutralize this camera without targeting a health care facility with a tank shell,” said Hamas official Bassem Naim, rejecting the Israeli justification.
The UN Human Rights Office condemned the strike and demanded an independent investigation. “The killing of journalists in Gaza should stop, should shock the world. Not into stunned silence, but into action,” said UN spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan, noting that at least 247 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 7, 2023.
Global anger grows
Governments including Canada, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, the European Union, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait condemned Israel’s hospital strikes. The US reaction was muted: President Donald Trump told reporters he “had not heard about the strike” but was “not happy about it.”
Despite international outrage, Israel has vowed to intensify its Gaza City offensive. With half of Gaza’s two million people crammed into the besieged city and starvation deaths mounting, humanitarian agencies warn the crisis is spiraling into one of the gravest catastrophes in modern conflict history.
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