61,599 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, 227 dead from ‘famine’

Bodies of 100 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza have been brought to various hospitals in the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Eleven of the dead were victims of earlier strikes. Another 513 people were wounded and admitted to hospitals. Additionally, five more people — including two children — have died from enforced starvation and malnutrition in the besieged enclave.

The ministry said many more casualties remain trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings and other debris, in areas unreachable by rescuers and medical teams. Excluding those still buried, the death toll since the war began 22 months and six days ago stands at 61,599, with at least 154,088 others injured.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera, citing the ministry, reported that between dawn and evening on Tuesday, 48 of those killed included 23 people who had gone to food distribution centers run by the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Of the 52 others killed, 41 died in strikes from Monday evening through the night, eight of them aid-seekers. In the same 24-hour period, at least 388 people were injured by Israeli gunfire while trying to receive aid.

In a statement on Telegram, the ministry added that 11 more bodies were recovered from the rubble of previous Israeli attacks. The number of deaths from enforced starvation and malnutrition has now reached 227, including 103 children. The latest fatalities include a six-year-old boy. Also among the dead were 30-year-old Wisam Abu Mohsen and elderly Jamal Fadi al-Najjar, who died at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.

According to the BBC and Reuters, Israeli forces have intensified tank, air, and drone bombardments not only in southern Khan Younis but also in eastern parts of the enclave in an effort to fully capture Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he wants the newly expanded operation there to end quickly, prompting three days of intense strikes.

Witnesses say the bombing is the heaviest in weeks. Continuous Israeli strikes over the past three days on Gaza City’s eastern neighborhoods — Sabra, Zaytoun, and Shujaiya — have forced many families to flee westward. One more person was reported killed in a strike on Gaza City’s Daraj district.

Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported that five bodies and several injured people were taken to hospitals after an Israeli strike on a shelter for displaced civilians in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, on Monday. Strikes on al-Mawasi — which Israel itself had designated as a “safe zone” — continued on Tuesday.

WAFA also said that Israeli forces carried out a deadly attack near al-Farouq Mosque in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, killing at least three members of the al-Hasari family, including a child. Another 20 people remain trapped under the rubble there. In another strike, an apartment building west of the University College area in central Gaza City was destroyed, killing one member of the al-Salmi family; several others remain missing.

Doctors at al-Ahli Baptist Hospital reported that an Israeli strike on a home in Gaza City’s southeastern Zaytoun neighborhood killed four members of the al-Nadim family and injured several others. Residents say Monday night was the worst in weeks. On Tuesday morning, a five-member family sheltering in a temporary refuge was also killed. Multiple residential homes have been targeted, including the al-Nadim family’s house on al-Nadim Street in al-Sahaba, where at least four were killed and many injured.

Amr Salah, a 25-year-old resident of Gaza, said: “It feels like the war is starting all over again. Tanks are shelling homes, and several have been hit. Missiles are being fired from aircraft. Some have struck streets in eastern Gaza. There’s fear of an even bigger military escalation across the city.”

Al Jazeera broadcast video showing the aftermath of intense Israeli strikes in Gaza City. Crowds were seen gathering in the streets as a small group transported a lifeless body in a vehicle. The road was streaked with thick streams of blood, forcing people to step around it.

Another video showed a Civil Defense member injured by an explosion while trying to rescue a family trapped inside their home. He sustained moderate injuries and remains hospitalized.

The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza reported that one of its members, Abdul Rahman Maher Abu Latifa, was killed in an Israeli strike while in his tent in al-Mawasi. Abu Latifa had worked as a firefighter in Bani Suhaila, near Khan Younis. The group said his parents were also killed in the strike. So far, 137 Civil Defense personnel have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war began.

Heavy bombardment in Gaza City has made it extremely difficult for Civil Defense teams to reach survivors. With no equipment, they continue to dig through rubble by hand in search of trapped Palestinians.

Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported that near the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, three people were killed and several wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid at a GHF food center. The remaining 28 killed were at one of GHF’s aid centers near Zikim Crossing in northwest Gaza, two centers in southern Khan Younis, and one near Rafah city.

The Health Ministry said GHF began food distribution on May 27. Since then, Israeli fire has killed 1,838 people while they were seeking food — 1,324 of them near GHF centers and 514 along aid convoy routes. Another 13,409 aid-seekers have been wounded in that time.

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when a Hamas attack killed 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched military operations across Gaza.

Although Israel announced a ceasefire on January 19 this year under pressure from the U.S. and other mediators, it resumed its military offensive on March 18. Since this second phase of the campaign began, 10,078 Palestinians have been killed and 42,219 wounded.