GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli forces killed at least 43 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency, including 26 people who had gathered at aid distribution sites as famine looms after more than 20 months of war on the Palestinian territory.
“Forty-three martyrs have fallen as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 26 of whom were waiting for humanitarian aid,” Mohammad Al-Mughayyir, director of medical supply at the civil defence agency in Gaza, told AFP.
The first massacre took place near Al-Shuhada Junction, north of the Nuseirat refugee camp, where large crowds had gathered in anticipation of humanitarian aid. Instead, they were met with gunfire and shelling by the Israeli occupation forces.
Al-Awda Hospital reported receiving the bodies of 23 victims, along with dozens of injured individuals—many of them in critical condition—as a result of the attack.
In a separate incident, Israeli forces bombed a residential home in the Al-Ma’asara area, west of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society confirmed that 11 people were killed in the airstrike, with several others wounded. The casualties were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah for treatment.
Israeli forces intensify military offensive in West Bank
Israeli forces have escalated their ongoing military campaign in the Tulkarem Governorate of the occupied West Bank, launching widespread raids across multiple towns in the eastern and northern parts of the region.
The operations included extensive home invasions, destruction of property, arrests, and the deployment of large numbers of infantry units, armored vehicles, and military bulldozers.
In the eastern town of Bal’a, troops conducted house-to-house searches, forcibly breaking down doors and causing significant damage to the interiors. Numerous vehicles were vandalised, with windows shattered and tires slashed during the raids.
Israeli military included in UN Blacklist of worst child rights violators
The United Nations has once again listed Israeli forces among the entities responsible for grave violations against children in armed conflict, according to an upcoming report seen by Anadolu Agency.
The report, which covers data from 2024 and is yet to be officially released, states: “In 2024, violence against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels, with a staggering 25 percent increase in grave violations compared to 2023.”
It highlights a nearly 50 percent rise in incidents resulting in the death or injury of children. The UN verified a total of 41,370 grave violations—36,221 of which occurred in 2024, while 5,149 were committed in previous years but verified this year.
A UN official, commenting on the dire situation, warned: “If you are distraught at the figures on Gaza for this year, wait until next year. The chances are very high that there will be fewer and fewer people available to monitor and document these violations.”
UN warns child hunger in Gaza surging
The UN’s child rights agency, UNICEF, has warned that childhood malnutrition is rising at an “alarming rate” as Israel continues to block most aid from entering Gaza.
UNICEF said that 5,119 children aged between six months and five years old were admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition last month alone. That’s a nearly 50 percent increase from the number of child admissions in April.
“In just 150 days, from the start of the year until the end of May, 16,736 children – an average of 112 children a day – have been admitted for treatment for malnutrition in the Gaza Strip,” Edouard Beigbeder, the agency’s Middle East and North Africa director, said in a statement.
