GAZA, Sept. 9 — At least 40 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army in various areas of the Gaza Strip since dawn on Tuesday, the Gaza-based Civil Defense said.
The authority’s spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, told Xinhua that about 25 people remain missing under the rubble after a residential house in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, was bombed.
He said rescue efforts have been stalled due to a limited number of vehicles and a shortage of fuel.
Basal warned that the situation in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult amid intensified Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings and other structures.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the incidents. Meanwhile, Gaza’s health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday that 83 people were killed, and 223 others wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll in the enclave since Oct. 7, 2023, to 64,605, with 163,319 wounded.
The authorities said 14 Palestinians were killed and 37 injured while trying to obtain food aid in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of deaths in such incidents since the start of the conflict to 2,444.
They also reported a rise in deaths caused by starvation and malnutrition, most of them children, amid severe shortages of medicine and food.
The health ministry accused the Israeli army of targeting medical facilities through airstrikes and blockades, pushing Gaza’s health system to the brink of collapse, with several hospitals forced to shut down and services drastically reduced.
It urged the international community, the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to protect medical facilities and staff, ensure the delivery of medical aid and open safe corridors for patients.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army called on residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes and move toward the designated humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi, in the south of the Strip, warning of the danger of remaining in the city.
The call has raised concern given the overcrowding and limited resources in southern Gaza, which has already been hosting large numbers of displaced people since the early months of the conflict. (Xinhua)
