GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least 64 Palestinians, including 19 aid seekers, were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll since October 2023 to 62,686, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday.
The health ministry reported that 278 people were wounded during the reporting period, bringing the overall injured toll since October 2023 to 157,951.
Hospital officials confirmed that the bodies of 19 people shot while seeking humanitarian aid and 123 wounded aid seekers were brought to health facilities on Sunday.
According to Gaza authorities, Israeli forces have killed 2,095 aid seekers and injured more than 15,431 since the establishment of the US- and Israel-backed “GHF” aid distribution mechanism in May.
UN warns famine is ‘man-made’
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that famine in Gaza is “man-made” and urged urgent international action.
“This famine is man-made — it is the result of systematic obstruction, indifference and delay,” the agency said in a statement on X, calling for a ceasefire, unimpeded aid access, and the large-scale opening of crossings.
🚨 Famine has been confirmed in #Gaza.
This is not a headline. It is real lives at stake.
This famine is man-made – it is the result of systematic obstruction, indifference and delay.
We need action, now:
🔺An immediate #ceasefire
🔺Open crossings at scale
🔺Unimpeded access— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) August 24, 2025
UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his call for “an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access”, stressing that famine has now been confirmed by the world’s leading experts on food insecurity.
Famine has been confirmed in Gaza by the world’s leading experts on food insecurity.@antonioguterres reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages & full humanitarian access.https://t.co/SQMyWaW1RW pic.twitter.com/FHgGkVd21m
— United Nations (@UN) August 22, 2025
Gaza’s health ministry reported that at least 289 Palestinians, including 115 children, have died of starvation.
“We are in a race against time to address famine, as the humanitarian response to it must be massive,” said Munir al-Bursh, the ministry’s director, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
He said eight people, including a child, died from hunger in the past 24 hours.
Israel escalates bombardment
Residents reported overnight Israeli air and tank bombardments across eastern and northern Gaza City, including the Zeitoun and Shejaia districts, as well as Jabalia in the north, according to Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military confirmed its forces had returned to combat in Jabalia “to dismantle tunnels and strengthen control of the area”, Reuters reported.
It said the operation would enable “the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevent Hamas fighters from returning”.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to press ahead with the offensive, warning Gaza City would be “razed” unless Hamas surrendered and released hostages.
Humanitarian crisis deepens
Gaza’s Government Media Office accused Israel of committing “a war crime” by seeking to expel medical workers from Gaza City and systematically destroying healthcare infrastructure.
It warned that the European Hospital in Khan Younis, already badly damaged, could not replace northern Gaza’s collapsed health system.
The office also said Gaza faces a shelter deficit of 96 percent, with only 10,000 tents entering the enclave out of the 250,000 required.
It added that Israel controls 77 percent of Gaza’s territory, leaving displaced Palestinian families with “nowhere safe to go”.
The Israeli military released 13 Palestinians held for months in Gaza, transferring them through the Red Cross to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera reported.
Hamas accused Israel of hiding other detainees and “forcibly” cutting them off from contact.
Meanwhile, Anadolu news agency reported that a cameraman with Palestine TV was shot dead by Israeli forces while covering aid distribution in northern Gaza.
The syndicate condemned his killing as part of a “systematic campaign” to silence Palestinian media. His death brings the number of journalists killed in Gaza to 240 since October.
International reactions
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “extremely relieved” that one of the organisation’s Gaza staff members, detained by Israel since July, had been released.
The WHO chief repeated calls for the protection of health and humanitarian workers.
Extremely relived that our @WHOoPt colleague, detained since 21 July in #Gaza, was released this morning.
We once again call for protection of all @WHO staff and personnel, and health and humanitarian workers. #NotATarget
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 24, 2025
Canada expressed alarm over the “horrific deteriorating conditions” in Gaza, citing reports that famine is confirmed in Gaza City and likely in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.
“Civilians are dying because adequate humanitarian aid is being blocked,” said Randeep Sarai, Canada’s Secretary of State for International Development, while calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Mass protests were also held across Australia and Denmark. In Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, tens of thousands marched with Palestinian flags demanding an end to what organisers called “genocide in Gaza”.
In Copenhagen, demonstrators gathered in the city centre chanting slogans denouncing Israel’s war and the starvation of Palestinians.
