289 Palestinians, including 115 children, die of starvation in Gaza
Monitoring Desk
GAZA: Health Ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that 289 Palestinians, including 115 children, have died of starvation amid the ongoing famine crisis in the enclave.
Munir al-Bursh, director of the ministry, told an Arab channel that the situation required a massive humanitarian response, warning that authorities were “in a race against time to address famine.”
He said eight Palestinians, including a child, had died from food shortages in the past 24 hours.
Moreover, at least 16 Palestinians have been killed across the enclave medical sources reported. The victims included at least seven aid seekers who were killed while waiting for food near distribution points. In the latest 24-hour reporting period, the bodies of 64 people and 278 injured Palestinians have been brought to hospitals across the besieged enclave, hospital officials said.
Hospital sources said at least five of the victims were shot while waiting for food near distribution points run by the US-backed GHF.
Since the start of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) operations, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands wounded while seeking aid, according to figures cited by the UN. Of these, 766 people died near GHF aid points, while another 288 were killed near UN or other convoys. At least 516 deaths and nearly 3,800 injuries were documented within the first month alone.
Meanwhile, the head of the children’s department at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis warned the health crisis in southern Gaza had reached “a catastrophic level,” saying the facility could no longer cope with the surge in malnourished children, the TV reported.
“One in four children in Gaza is already suffering from malnutrition, and between 60,000 and 75,000 children in southern Gaza alone are at risk,” Dr Ahmed al-Farra said, describing the figures as “horrifying and unprecedented.”
According to him, 25 children are currently hospitalised in critical condition, with some lying on the floor due to a lack of beds. He added that some children arrive at the hospital after losing their lives outside its gates “due to lack of milk and treatment.”
He added that the malnutrition clinic at Nasser, which operates only two days a week, receives more than 120 cases within hours — ten times higher than before.
Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Witnesses reported the sound of explosions non-stop overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighbourhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least 62,686 people and wounded 157,951, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave says.
The latest deaths raise the total number of aid seekers who have been killed by Israeli fire since the establishment of the US- and Israel-backed GHF at the end of May to 2,095, with more than 15,431 wounded.
