The civil defense agency in Gaza has reported that Israeli bombardments have claimed at least 29 lives since midnight in the war-ravaged region, which has been under an Israeli aid blockade for nearly two months.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that while the military’s objective is to bring all hostages home from Gaza, its “ultimate goal” is to secure victory over Hamas.
Israel resumed its offensive on Gaza on March 18, following the collapse of a two-month truce due to disagreements between Israel and Hamas, the militant group whose actions in 2023 ignited the conflict.
Civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir indicated that the toll includes eight individuals killed in an airstrike on the Abu Sahlul family residence in the Khan Younis refugee camp located in southern Gaza.
Moreover, at least 17 additional casualties have been reported from various attacks throughout the Palestinian territory, including one that struck a tent housing displaced persons near the central city of Deir el-Balah, according to the agency.
“We came here and found all these homes obliterated, with children, women, and young people all bombed to pieces,” said Ahmed Abu Zarqa following a deadly strike in Khan Younis.
“This is not a way to live. Enough, we are exhausted, enough!”
“We have no idea what to do with our lives anymore.
“We would rather die than endure this kind of existence.”
‘Enough is enough’
Images from AFP displayed residents sifting through rubble in search of bodies, which were removed on stretchers covered with blankets.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, rescuers hurried a screaming injured child out of an ambulance, while a group of women grieved.
“What have the children done wrong? What have we done wrong? Enough is enough.”
“Just drop a nuclear bomb on us,” expressed Ghada Abu Sahlul as she mourned the loss of a relative.
Destruction following Israeli strikes on Khan Younis
The health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza reported that at least 2,326 individuals have died since Israel resumed its airstrikes, bringing the overall death toll since the onset of the war to 52,418.
The Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, led to the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, primarily civilians, according to an AFP tally derived from official records.
Militants also abducted 251 individuals, of whom 58 remain held in Gaza, including 34 that the Israeli military reports are deceased.
Israel indicates that its renewed military initiative aims to compel Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
“We aim to bring home both the living and the deceased – this mission is crucial,” Mr. Netanyahu stated at an event in Jerusalem commemorating Israel’s Independence Day.
“However, in warfare, there exists one primary objective – and that is ultimate victory over our foes, which we shall attain.”
Days prior to reinstating its military actions, Israel blocked all aid entering Gaza, with UN rights chief Volker Turk declaring that the territory is experiencing a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
“Israel seems to be imposing conditions on Palestinians in Gaza that increasingly undermine their continued existence as a collective,” he remarked earlier this week.
Looting of Food Stores
In parallel, the increased looting of food stores and community kitchens in Gaza highlights a rising desperation as hunger spreads two months after Israel halted supplies to the Palestinian territory, according to aid officials.
Palestinian residents and aid workers reported at least five incidents of looting across the enclave, including at community kitchens, merchant shops, and the primary complex of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) in Gaza.
The looting “is a dire signal of the severity of the situation in the Gaza Strip – the spread of hunger, the erosion of hope, and desperation among residents alongside the absence of law and order,” stated Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network (PNGO) in Gaza.
Thousands of displaced individuals broke into the UNRWA complex in Gaza City, pilfering medications from its pharmacy and causing damage to vehicles, as reported by Louise Wateridge, a senior official for the agency based in Jordan.
“Though devastating, the looting is not unexpected given the total systemic collapse. We are witnessing the repercussions of a society brought to its knees by prolonged siege and violence,” she conveyed in a statement shared with Reuters.
Residents queue for food in Gaza, two months after Israel ceased supplies to the territory
Hamas deployed thousands of police and security forces across Gaza following a ceasefire in January, but its armed presence has decreased significantly since Israel resumed extensive attacks in March.
Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza, characterized the looting incidents as “isolated individual acts that do not embody the values and ethics of our Palestinian people.”
He asserted that, despite being targeted, Gaza authorities are “monitoring these events and addressing them appropriately to maintain order and human dignity.”
