KEY POINTS
- Five more deaths from starvation reported, bringing total to 217, including 100 children.
- Save the Children condemns child starvation as “avoidable tragedy” caused by Israeli restrictions.
- Israel is reported to mobilise tens of thousands more reservists to seize Gaza City.
- UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Gaza.
- Germany, UK, Italy, New Zealand and Australia reject Israel’s Gaza City occupation plan.
- Gaza authorities say only 14% of required aid trucks entered in past two weeks, worsening humanitarian crisis.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least 61 Palestinians, including 35 people waiting for humanitarian aid, have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday.
The Palestinian territory’s health ministry said the bodies of 61 people — including two killed in earlier strikes — arrived at hospitals during the reporting period. An additional 363 people were wounded, among them 304 aid seekers.
According to the ministry, six people died while waiting for aid at the Zikim crossing in northwest Gaza, eight in Khan Younis in the south, two near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site in southern Gaza, four near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, and seven in separate attacks in Shujayea.
The latest fatalities bring the total number of people killed in Israeli attacks since October 2023 to at least 61,430, with 153,213 wounded.
Starvation deaths rise
The Gaza health ministry reported five additional deaths from forced starvation in the past day, raising the toll from hunger to 217, including 100 children. Two of the latest victims were children.
Save the Children condemned the deaths, calling them a “devastating milestone that shames the world”.
Ahmad Alhendawi, the charity’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said: “Children in Gaza are being starved by design by Israeli authorities. This was a wholly predictable and avoidable tragedy that humanitarian organisations have been warning about for months.”
The organisation’s UK branch criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, questioning their continued support for arms exports to Israel.
“The majority of the UK public think we should stop licensing the export of F-35 parts to Israel,” it noted.
Israel’s siege is starving the children of Gaza. 100 children have now died as a result of starvation and malnutrition. This is an entirely preventable man-made starvation crisis.@Keir_Starmer, @DavidLammy – how can you continue to be complicit in these monstrosities?
Aid air… pic.twitter.com/lhgvcYOdOJ
— Save the Children UK (@savechildrenuk) August 10, 2025
Israel’s Gaza takeover plans
Citing Israel’s Channel 13, Al Jazeera reported that the Israeli government is expected to approve plans to call up tens of thousands of additional reservists, potentially bringing the total to 430,000 by the end of November.
The mobilisation is aimed at seizing Gaza City, a move that has triggered global criticism.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described Israel’s plan as a “flagrant violation” of international law and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
In a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Dar called for unimpeded humanitarian assistance and “an end to Israeli impunity”, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50, spoke with Foreign Minister of Türkiye, Hakan Fidan @HakanFidan late last night.
The two leaders reviewed Pak–Türkiye bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional and international… pic.twitter.com/SdBA6Telb9
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) August 10, 2025
International condemnation and UNSC meeting
The UN Security Council will meet in emergency session in New York to discuss the Gaza City operation.
The meeting, requested by Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom and Slovenia, comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the plan a “dangerous escalation”.
Germany, the UK, Italy, New Zealand and Australia issued a joint statement rejecting Israel’s decision, warning it would worsen the humanitarian crisis, endanger captives’ lives, and risk mass civilian displacement.
Russia also condemned the move, saying it risked worsening an “already dramatic” humanitarian situation.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin urged the international community to act against what he described as “genocide in Gaza” and ensure respect for international humanitarian law.
Aid restrictions worsen crisis
The Government Media Office in Gaza said only 1,210 aid trucks entered the Strip over the past two weeks — just 14 percent of the 8,400 trucks required to meet basic needs.
Aid agencies say at least 600 trucks a day are needed.
Officials accused Israel of “engineering starvation and chaos” by restricting aid flows and allowing looting during distribution.
The statement said thousands of Palestinians gather daily near food distribution points, including four run by the US- and Israeli-backed GHF, where Israeli forces have allegedly fired on crowds.
Netanyahu under pressure
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to agree to a ceasefire, but has remained defiant, saying the aim is to “free Gaza from Hamas” rather than occupy it.
Hamas has condemned the Gaza City operation as a “new war crime”.
According to the United Nations, casualty figures provided by Gaza’s health ministry are reliable. Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel killed 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Far-right Israeli ministers have urged Netanyahu to pursue a more decisive victory against Hamas.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused the government of “giving in to weakness” and opting for a limited operation instead of a full-scale military resolution.
