GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli attacks killed at least 84 people, including 17 aid seekers, in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said on Thursday, pushing the overall death toll from the war since October 2023 to 64,231.
The health ministry reported that 338 people were also injured during the latest strikes, raising the total number of wounded to 161,583.
It said many victims remain under the rubble or on the streets, where ambulance and civil defence crews are unable to reach them. The toll rose sharply after the names of 401 victims were verified and added to the registry.
Worsening famine
According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 17 Palestinians were killed and 174 injured while seeking humanitarian aid in the past 24 hours.
This brought the total number of Palestinians killed while trying to obtain aid to 2,356, with more than 17,244 others injured since 27 May.
The ministry added that three more Palestinians, including children, died of malnutrition and starvation, raising the famine-related death toll to 370, including 131 children.
Hospitals under pressure
Medical workers, cited by Al Jazeera, said that hospitals in Gaza City, including al-Ahli Arab Hospital and al-Shifa Hospital, are overwhelmed with casualties.
Facilities in Deir el-Balah face such shortages that some patients are carried in by hand, with not enough stretchers available.
Doctors described “huge pressure” on medical teams as air attacks continue unabated.
A British doctor, Nick Maynard, who recently returned from his third trip to Gaza, told Al Jazeera at the Jeremy Corbyn-led Gaza inquiry that Israeli forces were deliberately targeting specific body parts of young Palestinians.
He said teenage boys had been brought in with gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen, and testicles, describing it as “a very stark pattern” that resembled “target practice”.
2.4 million Gazans face famine
The United Nations has said Gaza’s 2.4 million residents face famine, with northern areas already confirmed to be in its grip.
A UN-backed food security assessment predicts the crisis will spread further south by September.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said it has been unable to bring supplies into Gaza for six months due to Israeli restrictions.
In a statement on X, the agency warned: “Families in Gaza have been left without essentials. Shelter items like mattresses, blankets and tents are much needed. UNRWA is ready to deliver — the siege must be lifted.”
Families in #Gaza have been left without essentials. UNRWA has not been allowed to bring in any aid for 6 months now.
Shelter items like mattresses, blankets, and tents are much needed. UNRWA is ready to deliver—the siege must be lifted. pic.twitter.com/1USNxkGe0y
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 4, 2025
Israel’s parliament passed a law in January banning UNRWA from operating on its soil or working with its authorities, severely hampering aid distribution.
Israeli military build-up
Inside Israel, protests have intensified. Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence on Wednesday, demanding a hostage deal.
Middle East Eye, citing Haaretz, reported that Netanyahu branded the protesters “fascist militias” and accused them of threatening his family.
Netanyahu also rejected Hamas’s statement that it was ready for a ceasefire, reiterating that the war could end only if all Israeli captives were released, Hamas was disarmed, and an alternative civil administration was established in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has been preparing for a new offensive on Gaza City. A senior military official told Reuters that the operation could displace up to one million Palestinians.
The civil affairs body COGAT said 70,000 people had already fled northern Gaza in recent days.
Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, said troops were already “intensifying our combat operations”.
