In the past 24 hours, at least 140 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire across Gaza, according to local health authorities. As the spotlight shifts to the growing Israel-Iran conflict, many Palestinians in Gaza fear their suffering is being overlooked.
Of the total deaths, around 40 occurred on Wednesday due to Israeli strikes and shootings. These include casualties among Palestinians trying to access humanitarian aid — a tragic pattern repeated almost daily since Israel partially eased its blockade three weeks ago.
Medical sources reported that separate airstrikes targeted homes in the Maghazi refugee camp, Gaza City, and the Zeitoun neighborhood in central and northern Gaza, killing at least 21 people. In Khan Younis, five more were killed in an airstrike on a makeshift encampment.
Additionally, 14 displaced people were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid along Salahuddin Road, where United Nations trucks were distributing supplies.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was reviewing the reports of fatalities near the aid distribution site. It maintained that military operations were focused on eliminating Hamas targets and that all feasible measures were being taken to minimize civilian harm.
Gaza’s health ministry previously reported that since aid deliveries resumed in late May, 397 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,000 wounded while attempting to obtain food.
Residents say the intensifying violence in Gaza is being overshadowed by the international focus on Israel’s recent confrontation with Iran. “People are being slaughtered in Gaza, day and night, but the world’s attention has turned to the Iran-Israel war,” said Adel, a resident of Gaza City.
“Those who aren’t killed by bombs are dying of hunger. Every day, people risk their lives for food and end up bleeding over the flour they fought so hard to get,” he added via a messaging app.
