Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,800 Palestinians amid famine and mass starvation, with 251 deaths from hunger.
Israel’s war on Gaza has now killed at least 61,827 Palestinians and wounded more than 155,000, Gaza’s health ministry said Saturday. The offensive has increasingly targeted densely populated neighbourhoods, pushing residents deeper into starvation and despair.
On Friday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 22 people in intensified bombardments of Gaza City’s Zeitun district, warning that some 50,000 residents trapped there have no food, water, or basic necessities. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said conditions were “rapidly deteriorating” and civilians were in mortal danger.
Aid seekers remain a particular target: the ministry reported that 13 Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops while waiting for food distribution, while at least 26 more were killed and 175 wounded in separate incidents across the besieged enclave. The UN human rights office says more than 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since late May alone.
Famine and Malnutrition Crisis
The health ministry confirmed that 11 people, including a child, starved to death in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 251.
Munir al-Bursh, the ministry’s director general, told reporters that at least 40,000 infants are suffering from severe malnutrition due to Israel’s blockade and restrictions on aid.
The crisis was underscored by the tragic death of 20-year-old Marah Abu Zuhri, a Palestinian woman evacuated to Italy for treatment after arriving in a state of severe emaciation. Despite urgent care in Pisa, she died of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. Italian media said she had been suffering from advanced malnutrition.
International Legal Pressure
In a development that could reshape international accountability, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has prepared arrest warrant applications against Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on charges of apartheid, Middle East Eye reported.
According to ICC insiders, the applications were completed before Prosecutor Karim Khan went on leave in May. If approved, it would mark the first time apartheid is charged at an international court, underscoring growing scrutiny of Israel’s conduct.
US Tightens Restrictions on Palestinians
The United States State Department announced it is halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza, pending a “full and thorough review” of recently issued humanitarian medical visas. Critics say the move further isolates Palestinians at a time of unprecedented humanitarian need.
A War Without Relief
Since Israel broke the previous ceasefire and imposed a total blockade of aid on March 18, at least 10,362 Palestinians have been killed and more than 43,000 wounded, the health ministry said.
Despite international condemnation and repeated UN warnings of famine, Israeli forces continue to conduct large-scale strikes. Human rights groups accuse Israel of deliberately targeting civilians and aid seekers in a strategy amounting to collective punishment.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian catastrophe continues to deepen. With famine deaths mounting, hospitals overwhelmed, and food distribution points turned into killing zones, Gaza’s civilians remain trapped in what aid workers describe as “an engineered disaster with no safe refuge.”
ST
