Two people shot and killed while trying to reach aid centre in Rafah
Israeli forces have fired on a group of people trying to reach an aid centre near Rafah, killing at least two, reports the Wafa news agency. Dozens more were wounded, report our colleagues on the ground.
The scene mirrors events from yesterday, when Israeli troops also fired on Palestinians trying to access newly established aid centres, wounding at least 20.
People ‘desperate for one bag of flour’
Not much food is coming into the Gaza Strip. The number of trucks entering is very limited and what they are carrying is also limited. And despite the trucks’ entry over the past few days, Palestinians say they have not really received any food because there have not been any normal distribution points.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen people queueing at hot meal kitchens. After waiting long hours, they still sometimes go home with their pots empty.
Without bread or any other type of food, some parents say they are giving their children water just to make them feel full. People say they are willing to do anything for one bag of flour or one food parcel. They are very desperate.
Israel crippling Gaza’s health system: Hospital director
The director of Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital says the medical complex is now operating at just 20 percent capacity as Israeli attacks continue destroying Gaza’s health system. “We are facing a tragic situation, and every day kidney patients die due to the inability to treat them,” Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera.
Israel has been besieging and bombing hospitals across Gaza, killing medical workers, patients and displaced people taking shelter. “International organisations are trying hard to provide assistance, but the occupation is preventing the entry of aid,” Abu Salmiya said.
Salmiya was released last July, having been detained by Israeli forces while treating patients alongside other medical staff. His arrest came amid Israeli military claims that Hamas was using the hospital as a base. The medical chief said no charge had ever been brought against him.
Three children among 5 killed in Israeli attack on Gaza City tent
We can now bring you more information on the Israeli attack that hit a tent sheltering displaced people near Gaza City this morning. The attack, on the Shati area, killed a family of five: a man, his wife and their three children, according to Wafa.
54,381 killed in Gaza during war
The bodies of 60 people and another 284 wounded have been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The figures do not include hospitals in the north, where access is strained. The ministry added that more victims are believed to be in areas rescuers cannot reach yet.
The latest casualties bring Gaza’s total death toll during the war to 54,381, it said, with 124,054 others wounded, it added.
