Israeli Air Strikes Kill 16 in Gaza As Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
At least 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Thursday, as aid kitchens suspended operations amid a worsening blockade and critical food shortages, medical sources said.
Israeli air strikes killed 12 people across the Gaza Strip within 24 hours, with more than 100 deaths reported in the same period, according to health officials.
Three people were killed in separate attacks in Deir el-Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Al Jazeera Arabic reported, citing medical sources.
In Shujayea, east of Gaza City, shelling killed one person and injured several others.
In Beit Lahiya, Israeli warplanes struck a residential building, killing five people, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.
Rescue teams were searching for a woman believed to be trapped under the rubble.
“The owner of this residential home and the people he hosted as displaced people were killed inside this residential home,” said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud from Gaza City.
“Many others were reported with severe injuries and burns, transferred to the Indonesian Hospital, which is already overwhelmed.”
Mahmoud added, “One single family just lost nine family members, including women and children, and more people are missing and trapped under the rubble.”
In Khan Younis, Israeli artillery hit tents sheltering displaced families, killing one girl and wounding four others.
The attacks come as Israel’s blockade on Gaza, tightened on March 2, deepens the humanitarian crisis.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) halted food operations on Wednesday after running out of flour and other supplies.
“We have no more food to prepare,” the group said, having been responsible for over 130,000 meals and 80,000 loaves of bread daily.
“The trucks are ready in Egypt, Jordan and Israel,” said WCK founder Jose Andres. “But they cannot move without permission. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow.”
The World Food Programme has also reported its supplies exhausted, cutting off critical support to hundreds of thousands of people.
Aid agencies say the blockade is driving Gaza toward famine, with widespread malnutrition and health services unable to respond.
Rights groups have condemned the restrictions as a potential war crime, describing them as a form of “starvation tactic.”
Sean Carroll, president of American Near East Refugee Aid, said aid deliveries have nearly collapsed.
“We were delivering nearly a million meals a week, and we’ve only delivered a few thousand in the past 66 days,” he said.
“I think governments have to use every diplomatic lever, every political lever, every economic lever to convince all parties that there needs to be a return to some semblance of delivering humanitarian aid. We are losing our humanity here,” he added.
With food distribution systems breaking down, scenes at remaining aid centers have grown chaotic.
Fuel shortages have also paralyzed water distribution, and most bakeries have shut.
