The death toll in the Palestinian enclave is rising as Israel obstructs the delivery of aid to Gaza amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.
More than 70 people were killed after Israeli forces fired on Palestinians collecting food aid in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total death toll to more than 30,000 since Israel’s war on Gaza began a year ago. is almost five months old, according to the Ministry of Health. the besieged enclave.
The ministry’s update on Thursday comes amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, on the brink of famine, as the Israeli army threatens a ground invasion of Rafah, where around 1.5 million people are taking refuge. people, most of them displaced by the war.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, called for a ceasefire on social media, saying the “horrific violence and suffering” must end. More than 70,000 Palestinians were injured, he said.
The death toll in #Gaza exceeded 30,000 – a large majority of women and children.
More than 70,000 Palestinians were injured.
This horrific violence and suffering must end. Ceasefire. pic.twitter.com/bvT0SLHqTj
– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 29, 2024
Ignoring international condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated days ago that the campaign against Rafah, the main entry point for urgent food and medicine supplies, “will happen.”
A prisoner exchange deal, currently being discussed as part of truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, would only “delay” an assault on crowded city, he said.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Willem Marx said, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem: “If this area becomes the center of the conflict, it would once again have a devastating impact on the ability of humanitarian agencies to deliver food to these population areas that need it so much. »
Citing deteriorating conditions in Gaza, Samantha Power, director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said Israel must open more crossings so that “vital humanitarian assistance can be significantly increased.” . “It’s a matter of life and death,” she said in a video posted on X.
Gazans are facing a catastrophic food crisis. Today from the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Gaza ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EOTqMor4Cq
– Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) February 28, 2024
UN aid agency officials have accused Israel of “systematically” preventing aid from reaching desperate Palestinians in Gaza, warning that at least a quarter of the enclave’s population is one step away from famine .
The Israeli army also systematically attacked Palestinians waiting for the meager supplies of food aid available.
On Thursday, it was reported that soldiers opened fire on civilians waiting for flour for their families in Gaza City, killing at least 70 Palestinians in an attack described as a cold-blooded “massacre” by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
The same day, it was also reported that Israeli air raids and shelling killed at least 30 people in separate attacks in the Nuseirat, Bureij and Khan Younis refugee camps in Gaza.
Hospitals are crumbling under the pressure of the high number of hospitalized patients. Children died “from malnutrition, dehydration and widespread starvation” at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. , which called for “immediate action” from international organizations.
The ministry said that of the 30,035 people killed so far in the conflict, more than 13,000 were children and 8,800 were women. At least 70,457 people have been injured, of whom more than 11,000 are in critical condition and need to be evacuated.