On Thursday, Day 101 since Israel resumed the genocide in Gaza on March 18th following a brief pause, 71+ Palestinians were killed as Israeli forces continued their onslaught against the entire civilian population of the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians in airstrikes and sniper attacks directed at civilians competing for scraps of food.
In the afternoon on Thursday, 18 Palestinians were killed in a single airstrike in Dir al-Balah, in central Gaza, when people gathered for flour distribution by US company GHF were hit by a bomb dropped from an aerial drone. This marks a new advancement in the flour distribution massacres, which have been occurring daily since GHF opened its operations in Gaza on May 27th. Each day, Israeli snipers have fired lethal and non-lethal weapons at Palestinians gathered to collect flour at the distribution sites, killing over 400 in the past three weeks. But this marks the first time that Israeli forces have dropped a drone strike on the gathered crowds trying to obtain a small bag of flour for their starving family members.
The UN emergency food relief agency of the UN human rights office (OHCHR) recently called on the Israeli military to cease the use of lethal force near aid convoys and food distribution sites. The agency said the fear of starvation and desperate need for food is causing large crowds to gather along well-known transport routes, hoping to intercept and access humanitarian supplies while in transit.
“Only a massive scale-up in food distributions can stabilize the situation, calm anxieties and rebuild the trust within communities that more food is coming,” it said, calling urgently for safer convoy routes, faster permissions, restored communication channels and additional border openings.
“The time to act is now. Delays cost lives. We must be allowed to safely do our jobs,” the agency said. Two infants died of malnutrition on Thursday (see below for details). On Thursday, the UNRWA Media Office official Enas Hamdan said 5,000 children in Gaza are suffering from severe malnutrition due to the shortage of aid.
Meanwhile, the nearly 10,000 Palestinian hostages being held in Israeli prison camps (many of which are in scorching heat in the Negev desert like the notorious Sde Teiman torture/death camp that opened in late 2023) continue to suffer horrific, tortured conditions — including many doctors and nurses like Dr. Hossam Abu Safiyah, kidnapped over 100 days ago when the Israeli military besieged the Kamal Adwan Hospital that he heads.
“We are dying inside Israeli jails”: Heartfelt words and a plea from freed Palestinian detainee Muhammad Khalaf from Ramallah, after a year and a half in detention, describing the harsh and catastrophic conditions detainees endure behind Israeli bars, where they suffer from widespread scabies due to deliberate Israeli neglect, the denial of personal hygiene supplies, and being allowed to shower only once a week:
11:59 pm
Two infants died in the Gaza Strip on Thursday due to malnutrition and a shortage of infant formula, amid the ongoing Israeli siege and genocide in the enclave.
The families of the two infants escorted their bodies from Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, after they died as a result of being deprived of the most basic rights of health care and food.
Last week, medical sources warned of an imminent health disaster threatening the lives of infants due to the depletion of baby milk amid the ongoing siege and war.
Two hospitals in the Gaza Strip warned on Thursday of an imminent “health disaster” threatening the lives of infants due to the depletion of baby formula, amid the ongoing war of extermination and the Israeli blockade imposed on the Strip. In the same context, Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, director of the Liberation Building for Children and Maternity at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis (southern Gaza Strip), warned of an imminent danger to the lives of newborns.
“Within 48 hours, we may start losing the lives of premature babies and infants due to the depletion of milk,” he said. Since March 2, Israel has continued its policy of systematically starving approximately 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza by closing the crossings to aid supplies piling up on the border, which has plunged the Strip into famine and claimed the lives of many.
Mahmoud Shurab, the uncle of the 5-month-old infant, Nidal, said that his nephew died as a result of “lack of food and unavailability of milk,” noting that there were similar cases in the hospital that required urgent intervention to provide therapeutic milk and appropriate food for children.
As for Muhammad Al-Hamas, the father of the infant Kinda (10 days old), he said that his daughter died due to malnutrition and lack of medicine.
According to medical sources, the death toll from food and medicine shortages in the Gaza Strip has risen to 244.
The two recent deaths add to a growing toll of victims of hunger and deprivation of treatment, most of whom are children and the elderly.
8:28 pm
A Palestinian citizen was killed and others were injured when Israeli warplanes bombed a house of the al-Najjar family in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.
In the same context, six citizens waiting for aid were injured by Israeli occupation fire near the Shuhada Junction in the central Gaza Strip.
4:34 pm
Five citizens were killed when Israeli warplanes bombed a vehicle in Khan Younis.
Our correspondent reported that Israeli warplanes bombed a vehicle in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, killing five civilians and wounding others, including women and children.
1:46 pm
Eighteen Palestinian citizens were killed on Thursday afternoon when Israeli drones bombed a group of civilians in Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza Strip.
A Wafa news correspondent said that the occupation forces committed a new massacre after they bombed a group of citizens near the Al-Baraka junction in the city of Deir al-Balah with drones, killing 18 citizens and wounding others.
The people killed were gathered at a flour distribution site near the busy Al-Baraka intersection, which is usually a crowded market.
11:51 am report:
At least 31 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli attacks across the Strip, according to medical sources in hospitals in the devastated coastal enclave.
Two Palestinians were killed, and many injured, in a bombing of the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, while another person was killed in an attack on Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
Nine of the victims were killed in the bombing of Amr Bin Al-‘Aas School, which was sheltering displaced families in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City.
Three others were killed while waiting near aid distribution points. The victims were transported to Al-Shifa Hospital in the western part of the city.
Additionally, at least 12 Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in Israeli airstrikes early Thursday targeting tents in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and near the Jaser building in Gaza City, according to medical staff at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.
‘Our children are torn into pieces’
This Palestinian woman broke down as she recounted losing her family members in Israel’s war on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/YSkvlBk9T5
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 26, 2025
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that three Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid were killed in the Wadi Gaza Bridge area in central Gaza. Many others were injured and transferred to Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat refugee camp.
PRCS added that five Palestinians were killed, and many injured, in an Israeli bombing of a tent housing displaced members of the Abu Arab family in the Al-Majayda neighborhood of Mawasi Khan Younis. The victims were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Medical officials confirmed that at least 31 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured since dawn, including three individuals who had been waiting for humanitarian aid, amid sustained Israeli bombardment across several areas of the enclave.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, declared that “the funerals and remains of Israeli soldiers will become a permanent scene if the occupation continues its war crimes against the Palestinian people.” The statement accompanied newly released footage showing the targeting of two Israeli armored personnel carriers in Khan Younis.
The video sparked a wave of outrage in Israeli media, with commentators describing the footage as “disgraceful and deeply troubling for the military’s image.” The incident, labeled a catastrophe, has fueled calls within Israeli discourse for a reassessment of the army’s strategy in the besieged coastal enclave.
Despite mounting losses, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi maintained that the objectives remain unchanged: dismantling Hamas’s authority and securing the release of Israeli captives.
Fanatical Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza as “a significant boost to Hamas,” arguing that halting deliveries would “bring Israel closer to victory more quickly.” He announced plans to raise the issue for another vote during the upcoming Israeli cabinet meeting.
On the diplomatic front, former U.S. President Donald Trump stated that negotiations regarding Gaza were making “significant progress,” adding that his envoy, Steve Witkoff, had informed him that a breakthrough appeared imminent.
In response, the Hamas movement reiterated its readiness to engage constructively with proposals that ensure a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
In addition, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that extreme water shortages in Gaza are placing Palestinians at risk of death, as water infrastructure continues to collapse under ongoing Israeli bombardment and a fuel blockade in place since March.
In a statement released late Wednesday, UNRWA said Palestinian families across Gaza are now “facing death from thirst” as water supply systems continue to break down.
“Only 40 percent of drinking water production facilities remain operational. Gaza is on the brink of a man-made drought,” the agency warned.
UNRWA stated that its ability to provide water has been reduced by half compared to levels during the ceasefire period. The decline is attributed to relentless Israeli airstrikes, forced displacement orders, and Israel’s continued ban on fuel entry for over 100 days.
The statement cited numerous obstacles: wells depleted of fuel, water sources in high-risk zones, shattered pipelines causing widespread leakage, and water trucks frequently unable to reach affected areas. The agency reiterated its urgent appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera, the head of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza warned that the humanitarian situation had reached its most catastrophic stage since the onset of the genocide, with life-threatening shortages accelerating across the Strip.
He emphasized that the absence of accountability emboldens the Israeli occupation to pursue its crimes with impunity. He described Israel’s control over aid as a policy of engineered starvation aimed at subjugating the population through deprivation.
The official also criticized the U.S. aid distribution mechanism, calling it complicit in the ongoing violations by enabling Israeli policies, and warned that Gaza is approaching a critical turning point, particularly regarding water scarcity, and cautioned that thirst may soon claim additional lives if the blockade persists.
He concluded with a stark appeal to the international community to take decisive action, condemning what he described as global inaction in the face of widespread human suffering.
“Save The Children” international humanitarian organization has raised the alarm over the mounting toll on children at humanitarian aid sites in Gaza, reporting that minors have been killed or wounded in more than half of the confirmed attacks since the U.S./Israeli-backed, so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” began operations four weeks ago.
According to the organization, out of 19 fatal incidents near food distribution points, children were among the victims in at least 10.
The group noted that the desperation facing many families has forced some to send children in their place to collect aid, particularly when no able-bodied adults remain, leaving them exposed to lethal Israeli fire.
Since May 27, over 500 Palestinians have been killed and at least 3,000 injured while attempting to access humanitarian assistance, either at or on the way to GHF-operated distribution sites, or while approaching the few remaining convoys organized by the UN and NGOs, the group said, citing data from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Staff members on the ground have reportedly witnessed fatal shootings during aid deliveries.
“No one wants to risk going to these distribution points, and who could blame them, it’s like walking into a death trap,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.
“A colleague told us his household is surviving on one meal a day, yet he refuses to go to a GHF site because he believes his life is worth more than a sack of flour,” he added.
Alhendawi stated that amid the growing crisis, children are also being wounded and killed as they try to reach aid they are entitled to by international law.
Israel has now killed at least 56,156 Palestinians, including more than 16,507 children, 9,803 women, 254 journalists, and injured at least 132,239, mostly women and children, while thousands remain missing beneath the rubble of bombed homes, streets, and alleyways since October 7, 2023.
