GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli forces carried out air raids, intensive artillery shelling and demolition operations across southern Gaza on Wednesday, witnesses said, as humanitarian needs in the besieged Palestinian enclave continued to rise despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire.
According to Arab media reports, Israeli strikes hit areas around Khan Younis and parts of Gaza City. Witnesses, cited by media, reported drones and fighter jets circling overhead.
The Israeli military said its troops killed two Palestinians in separate incidents in central Gaza after the men allegedly crossed a so-called “yellow line” near Israeli positions and posed an immediate threat. The army described the men as combatants.
Rising death toll and bodies under rubble
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the overall death toll from Israeli military offensive since October 2023 surpassed at least 68,875 and 170,679 were injured.
Health officials reported three bodies and two injured people admitted to hospitals in the latest 24-hour period.
Rescue teams warned that several victims remain trapped under rubble because ambulances and civil defence crews cannot safely reach many parts of the enclave.
Hamas’s armed wing on Tuesday said it recovered the body of an Israeli captive in Shujayea and handed it over, a development Israeli authorities later confirmed. The Israeli military identified a returned hostage as Staff Sergeant Itay Chen, 19.
Under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire, Hamas agreed to hand over living hostages and the remains of deceased captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Progress has been slow, with Hamas blaming logistical and security obstacles.
Water, shelter and winter fears
Gaza’s water crisis has reached “catastrophic” levels, municipality spokesperson Hosni Mhanna said, citing the destruction of water networks, wells and desalination plants.
He said only 15 per cent of Gaza’s daily water needs are being met and that most desalination capacity is offline.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said Israeli authorities had rejected 23 requests by nine aid groups to bring in essential shelter items since the ceasefire.
The NRC warned that hundreds of thousands of displaced people face exposure to winter rains and cold without adequate tents, bedding or generators.
The World Food Programme and other UN agencies said limited crossing points into Gaza are severely constraining aid deliveries.
WFP spokespersons told reporters that only a fraction of required supplies was entering the Palestinian territory and that aid agencies were in a “race against time” ahead of winter.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said nearly 75,000 people are sheltering in more than 100 of its buildings, many of them damaged and overcrowded.
The agency said it was working to provide water, sanitation and hygiene support.
UN Security Council mandate for Gaza force
Israeli authorities said they had received the identified remains of an Israeli-American soldier returned from Gaza.
Gaza hospitals said Israel handed over 15 Palestinian bodies via the Red Cross on Tuesday. Media reports put the total number of Palestinian bodies returned under the exchange at 285.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres told Al Jazeera that any stabilisation force in Gaza must have “full international legitimacy” and a clear UN Security Council mandate. He said a credible political path was needed to end the occupation and secure a two-state solution.
