GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least 68 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours as Israel intensified its bombardment across the Gaza Strip, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday, bringing the overall death toll since October 7, 2023, to 64,871.
In a statement, the ministry said 346 wounded people were also brought to hospitals during the same period. It added that the bodies of 10 people and 18 injured were recovered near aid distribution sites.
According to the ministry, since the establishment of the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution points in May, at least 2,494 people have been killed in or near them, with more than 18,135 others wounded.
Medical sources, cited by Al Jazeera, said that four people were killed and 25 wounded when Israeli fire struck near an aid centre north of Rafah.
In Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa district, Al-Quds Hospital confirmed five deaths following Israeli air raids. In Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, al-Aqsa Hospital said six displaced Palestinians were killed after their tent was hit, while one person died in a strike on a car near al-Shifa Hospital.
The Palestinian Civil Defence official, cited by Al Jazeera, said that at least 49 people were killed in Gaza City alone, with more than 6,000 displaced within a single day as residential blocks and UN-run schools converted into shelters were struck. The agency said the toll across the Strip on Saturday reached 62.
The bombardment has continued despite repeated evacuation orders. UN agencies estimate around 900,000 people remain trapped in Gaza City.
The enclave’s civil defence, however, reported that fewer than 70,000 had managed to leave. Leaflets dropped by Israeli aircraft on Saturday urged residents in western districts to head south, warning: “The Israeli army is operating with very intense force in your area and is determined to dismantle and defeat Hamas.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Saturday that removing Hamas leaders abroad remained central to Israel’s war aims.
“The Hamas chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza. They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war,” he wrote on X.
Hamas condemned the Israeli strike in Doha as an attempt to undermine negotiations, insisting its conditions for ending the war would not change.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have continued to demolish high-rise buildings in Gaza City, justifying the attacks by claiming Hamas infrastructure was hidden inside or nearby. The military posted on X that residents of one such building must evacuate or face attack.
Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim accused Israel of acting in bad faith. In a statement, he said the assault on Qatar showed Israel “does not respect covenants or agreements”, urging Arab and Islamic states to adopt “clear and specific measures” to end the war and cut ties with Israel.
At the Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha called for a UN General Assembly resolution to halt “violations and crimes” against Palestinians and to advance the two-state solution. “Efforts must be uniform and united in the face of all these challenges,” he said.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned that international silence had emboldened Israel to continue its “crimes” with impunity.
He urged Arab and Islamic countries to hold Israel accountable for “evidenced war crimes, including killing civilians, starving the population and driving an entire population homeless.”
In Jerusalem’s Old City, the Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces stormed al-Khader Girls Elementary School, assaulting local officials and members of the Parents Council.
Witnesses, cited by Al Jazeera, said troops beat them with rifle butts, leaving visible injuries, and threatened to close all seven schools in the complex.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said on X that bombardment of Gaza City remained “constant”, stressing that there was “no safe place” in the besieged enclave.
The Israeli bombardment in the north of #Gaza is constant.
Forcing thousands to flee.
The only way for many is to walk.
There is a shortage of shelters and tents.
There is no safe place.
Stop the war now and let #UNRWA bring in our critical supplies.#CeasefireNow pic.twitter.com/fzDuG55SZW
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 14, 2025
