Civilians trapped in bombed-out neighbourhoods as international calls grow for a ceasefire; famine and mass displacement compound the crisis.
GAZA: An Israeli air strike on Saturday destroyed a high-rise in Gaza City, the second in as many days, as health officials said at least 68 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 64,368.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 362 people were wounded in the past day, including 23 killed and 143 injured while waiting for aid. It added that more than 162,000 have been wounded since Israel began its military campaign in October 2023 following the Hamas attack.
The high-rise in Gaza City was struck after the military warned people to flee south ahead of a planned offensive to capture the area.
Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, 48, a resident of Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, is now sheltering in a tent in the Rimal area. His daughter, Samia Mushtaha, 20, said the family no longer fears leaving or staying. “Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger,” she said.
“Some say we should evacuate, others say we should stay,” Mushtaha told French news agency AFP. “But everywhere in Gaza, there are bombings and deaths. For the past year-and-a-half, the worst attacks that caused massacres of civilians have been in Al-Mawasi, this so-called humanitarian zone,” he added.
Hostage Negotiations and International Pressure
Israel faces mounting domestic and international pressure to end its nearly two-year bombardment campaign in Gaza. Last month, Hamas agreed to a temporary ceasefire and staggered hostage releases, but Israel insists the group release all captives at once, disarm, and relinquish control of Gaza.
At the White House on Friday, former President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with Hamas over hostages being held in Gaza. “We’re in very deep negotiation with Hamas,” he said. “There could be some [hostages] that have recently died, is what I’m hearing. I hope that’s wrong, but you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation.”
Hamas took 251 hostages during its October 2023 attack on Israel. Israeli authorities say 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.
Famine and Displacement
The United Nations estimates nearly one million people remain in and around Gaza City, where it declared a famine last month, warning of a looming “disaster” if the assault continues.
Since the war began in October 2023, Gaza’s health ministry reports that at least 64,368 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians. Israeli air and ground strikes hit densely populated areas, destroying buildings, including the 12-storey Mushtaha Tower, surrounded by makeshift tents.
Al Jazeera English reported that Israel has ordered fresh evacuations to al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, designating it a new “humanitarian zone.” But the overcrowded encampment has repeatedly been bombed, leaving civilians among the casualties.
“Walking on Ruins and Bodies”
Residents returning to Zeitoun describe entire districts reduced to rubble. “What we have built in 50 years was flattened in five days,” one resident told Al Jazeera. Others recounted “walking on ruins and the bodies of loved ones.”
Aid groups warn that thousands remain trapped under collapsed buildings. The Lancet, in a widely cited peer-reviewed study, suggests overall deaths could exceed 70,000 when factoring in disease, starvation, and lack of medical care. Children account for nearly one-third of fatalities, according to Anadolu News Agency.
Women, Children, and Civilian Casualties
More than one million Palestinians have been displaced multiple times as Israeli forces advance deeper into Gaza City. News reports said Israel now claims control of up to 40 percent of the city.
Humanitarian organisations stress that civilians, especially women and children, bear the brunt of the conflict. The Guardian highlighted incidents where children were killed while fetching water in areas previously designated “safe zones” by Israel. Analysts at the European Council on Foreign Relations described Israel’s campaign as a form of “maximal collective punishment,” rather than a targeted military operation.
The current devastation followed Israel’s invasion after Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched major air and ground operations, escalating the Gaza conflict into one of the deadliest chapters in the region’s history.
International humanitarian agencies continue to warn that without urgent intervention, the situation in Gaza could worsen into an unprecedented catastrophe.
