KEY POINTS
- Gaza’s death toll since October 2023 has surged to 65,283.
- Gaza health ministry reports 440 deaths from starvation and malnutrition.
- Israeli 36th Armoured Division enters Gaza City.
- Pope Leo XIV condemns Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians.
- UK, Canada and Australia formally recognise the Palestinian state.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least 75 more Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours as Israel intensified its ground and air assault on Gaza City, the enclave’s health ministry said on Sunday, while three major Western powers announced they were formally recognising a sovereign Palestinian state.
The Gaza health ministry said the latest fatalities brought the total number of Palestinians killed since Israel launched its offensive in October 2023 to 65,283, with at least 166,575 others wounded.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added that five Palestinians were killed and 24 wounded while trying to collect humanitarian aid, bringing the overall death toll among aid seekers to 2,523.
The ministry also reported four deaths from starvation and malnutrition in the past day, including one child, raising the total number of such fatalities to 440.
Israel Intensifies Ground Offensive
Meanwhile, Israeli army announced that its 36th Armoured Division had entered Gaza City to join the ground offensive. The unit had previously operated in Khan Younis before being withdrawn earlier this month for redeployment.
In central Gaza, seven people, including four children, were killed in an air raid on the Bureij refugee camp, according to emergency workers. Witnesses said the strike hit near a UNRWA clinic.
In Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, at least 25 members of the Doghmush family died in an overnight air strike, relatives said. Survivors accused Israeli drones of firing on rescuers attempting to free people trapped in the rubble.
Pope Leo Denounces ‘Forced Displacement of Palestinians’
The latest escalation drew fresh international condemnation. Pope Leo XIV denounced the “forced displacement of Palestinians” during his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican, declaring that “there is no future based on violence, forced exile and revenge”.
Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based charity, urged London to follow its recognition of Palestinian statehood with an arms embargo on Israel.
“The UK remains complicit in the atrocities by continuing to allow arms transfers,” said Rohan Talbot, the group’s advocacy director.
Israeli Violence in West Bank
Meanwhile, violence spread in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that illegal Israeli settlers seized a Palestinian home in Hebron and established a new outpost in the Jordan Valley. Israeli forces shot and wounded a young man near Bethlehem, Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with the West Bank settlement expansion, dismissing international recognition of Palestinian statehood.
“Palestinian statehood will not happen,” he said before departing for the United States, where he is due to address the UN General Assembly.
Recognition of Palestinian Statehood
The UK, Canada and Australia on Sunday became the first G7 nations to formally recognise Palestine as a state. Portugal said it would follow suit.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the move was aimed at reviving hopes for a two-state solution. “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” he wrote on X.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Israel of “an unrelenting policy of settlement expansion” and “a sustained assault in Gaza in violation of international law”.
Australian leader Anthony Albanese said recognition was coordinated with London and Ottawa and reflected Canberra’s “longstanding commitment” to a two-state solution.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry welcomed the recognition as “courageous” and urged other nations, especially the United States, to follow.
