Gaza City – At least seven people, including three children, were killed on Saturday following Israeli air and naval strikes across the Gaza Strip, as the months-long blockade continues to push the war-ravaged enclave toward humanitarian collapse.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, an Israeli warplane targeted a civilian tent in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City on Saturday morning, killing five members of the Tlaib family.
The victims included three children, their mother, and her husband.
“Three children, their mother, and her husband were sleeping inside a tent when an occupation aircraft bombed them,” said Omar Abu al-Kass, the children’s grandfather. “The strikes came without warning and without having done anything wrong.”
Separately, one person was killed in a drone strike in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City. Further south, Wafa reported that Israeli naval forces opened heavy fire on the shores of Rafah, killing a man identified as Mohammed Saeed al-Bardawil.
Two more civilians were injured in an attack on the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, west of Rafah.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that, so far, 23 people were killed and 124 others injured across the enclave in the past 24 hours alone, amid intensifying Israeli military operations.
The strikes come as Gaza’s 2.3 million residents face a growing humanitarian emergency caused by Israel’s ongoing blockade, which has been in place since March 2.
The blockade has halted the entry of essential supplies, leaving communities increasingly reliant on charity-run kitchens, many of which are now shutting down due to the exhaustion of food stocks and fuel.
“Bakeries are not operating, there are no functioning distribution points, and only a few community kitchens are still open. There’s barely food,” said Hind Khoudary, an Al Jazeera correspondent reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
She described long queues of people waiting for meals, with many returning empty-handed. Kitchens that previously fed 100 people are now struggling to serve as many as 2,000.
Children have been among the hardest hit by the deteriorating conditions. Khoudary said that growing numbers of children are dying from malnutrition and lack of medical care. The shortage extends beyond food, with cooking gas, fuel, clean water, and critical medical supplies all in dangerously short supply.
Among the humanitarian organisations forced to suspend operations, the US-based World Central Kitchen announced on Wednesday that it could no longer continue due to the lack of basic provisions for preparing meals or baking bread.
The United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued an urgent appeal on Friday, stating that “children are starving and dying,” and warning that community kitchens are closing and clean water is running out.
The blockade is also having a devastating impact on patients with chronic illnesses, including diabetes, cancer, and rare conditions. Many can no longer access life-saving medication or basic treatment.
Doctors and pharmacists across Gaza report that essential drugs are nearly impossible to obtain. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, quoted one local doctor as saying the tragedy lies not only in the suffering but in how much of it could have been prevented.
He spoke with the father of a 10-year-old diabetic boy who said insulin is no longer available anywhere in northern Gaza. “I spend entire days searching pharmacies. Sometimes I go to private homes hoping to barter for what my son needs,” the father said.
Said al-Soudy, head of emergency services at Al Helou International Hospital, noted that many cancer patients and those with severe conditions are at risk. “Without their medications, their conditions worsen and may become life-threatening,” he said.
Pharmacist Rana Alsamak also told Al Jazeera that medications for multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, and immune-related diseases are almost entirely unavailable. “These conditions are now largely untreated,” she said.
On Friday, the United States announced the creation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, intended to coordinate the delivery of aid into the enclave. The operation, however, would take place under Israeli military protection. The United Nations rejected the proposal, citing concerns that such an approach would militarise humanitarian aid, undermine neutrality, and trigger mass displacement.
As the crisis deepens and international aid organisations struggle to operate, pressure continues to mount on Israel to lift the blockade and allow unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged territory.
Source: Al Jazeera, Wafa, AFP, and agencies.
