By Elham Asaad Buaras
London, (The Muslim News): A series of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip yesterday left at least 72 people dead, according to medical sources, as bombardments targeted residential areas, makeshift shelters, schools, and food distribution points.
Since October 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 56,500 Palestinians have been killed and 133,419 wounded. The Ministry has also confirmed the deaths of 66 children from malnutrition, as restrictions on aid deliveries continue to choke the enclave.
Among the casualties were multiple children and displaced civilians. Health officials reported that two young children, aged 2 and 3, were killed in an overnight airstrike on their home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.
In Khan Younis, five people were killed when Israeli forces struck a tent housing displaced family in al-Mawasi. A separate strike nearby killed another five people. A medical source told Anadolu Agency that “the tent was completely flattened. Families who had already fled previous bombardments had nowhere left to go.”
Airstrikes also struck schools being used as temporary shelters. Seven Palestinians were killed when Israeli fighter jets bombed Al-Hurriya School in Zeitoun and Halawa School in Jabalia al-Balad. Both were housing displaced civilians. A paramedic told Anadolu, “We pulled children from under the rubble. These are not military targets.”
In the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City, five civilians were killed in a strike on a residential home. Later in the day, an Israeli drone reportedly shelled the busy Al-Zawiya market, killing two people and wounding at least 15. “There was panic, smoke everywhere,” a shop owner told local reporters. “People were just trying to buy food.”
Near Rafah, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid near the al-Shakoush area, close to a U.S.-run distribution point. Five people were killed and more than 25 others injured. A witness told Middle East Eye, “They were waiting peacefully. Then came the gunfire.”
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 549 Palestinians have been killed and over 4,066 injured near aid distribution sites since the beginning of the war. “People are starving, and even the act of queuing for flour or canned food can get you killed,” said a field medic.
In Jabalia, rescue teams recovered the bodies of seven civilians, including women and children, from the rubble in the al-Nazla area following an Israeli strike. An additional six people were killed and more than 20 injured in a strike on a home and nearby civilians.
Elsewhere, four people were killed in an airstrike on a home in Gaza City’s al-Sabra neighbourhood. A drone strike in the Wadi al-Arais area of Shejaiya killed one man, while several others were injured in a separate strike near Al-Samer Junction.
In the occupied West Bank, violence has also surged. The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 986 people have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since the war began.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Football Association reported that 785 athletes and sports officials have been killed, most of them in Gaza. “We’ve lost 437 football players,” said Deputy Association head Susan Shalabi, in comments to Anadolu Agency. “Entire teams have been wiped out. Stadiums and training grounds have been bombed.” She added that 288 sports facilities have been destroyed or damaged, including 21 in the West Bank.
[Photo: Palestinian child tries to find her personal belongings bombed by Israeli forcess on Al-Falah School, located in the Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on June 30, 2025. Classrooms and shelter areas in the school, which was housing displaced Palestinians, were rendered unusable. Photojournalist: Dawoud Abo Alkas/AA]
