By Nadine Osman
London, (The Muslim News) : At least 58 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured on Monday in a relentless series of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, pushing the overall Palestinian death toll past 57,500 since the start of Israel’s assault in October 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
In a statement issued Monday, the ministry said that 105 bodies were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours alone, with 356 people injured, bringing the total number of wounded to at least 136,617. The ministry warned that “many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.”
The deadly wave of attacks struck across the besieged territory, targeting homes, shelters, vehicles, and civilian gathering points. Among the dead were several children, including a toddler killed when Israeli warplanes bombed a clinic-turned-shelter in Gaza City’s Al-Rimal neighbourhood, which left six dead and 15 wounded.
In the southern Tel al-Hawa district of Gaza City, a strike on an apartment killed one Palestinian and wounded several others. Two more were killed in a separate attack on a civilian vehicle in the Sabra neighbourhood.
Further south, in the Al-Bureij refugee camp, three people were killed in an Israeli attack on a house, according to a medical source at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. In central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, 11 people were killed and others injured in a bombing that hit a civilian gathering.
Strikes continued to hit densely populated areas, with reports of deaths in the Al-Daraj and Al-Tuffah neighbourhoods, Beit Lahia in the north, and Khan Younis and Al-Mawasi in the south. Three Palestinians were killed near the maternity building of Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City when Israeli forces targeted a vehicle.
Displaced civilians remain at the heart of Israel’s campaign. Two people were killed in a strike on a tent sheltering families west of Nuseirat camp, and four others sustained critical injuries in Deir al-Balah when the Israeli army hit another shelter for displaced Palestinians.
In response to Monday’s bloodshed, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric raised urgent concerns over the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Speaking at a press conference, Dujarric revealed that more than 700,000 Palestinians have been displaced since March, many for the second or third time. “Yesterday, Israeli authorities issued another displacement order for parts of Khan Younis for the second time in two days. Our colleagues estimate that more than 50,000 people are in the area slated for displacement,” he said.
“There is no safe place to go,” Dujarric stressed. “Palestinians were reportedly killed over the weekend while attempting to get food. Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients injured while seeking aid.”
The UN condemned the killing of civilians and urged Israel to allow the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance. Dujarric warned that Gaza could soon face an internet blackout due to the prolonged ban on fuel imports, now entering its fourth month. “Fuel is a lifeline in Gaza, and Israeli authorities must allow this commodity to enter without any further delay,” he said.
The dire conditions were echoed by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, who warned of a nutrition crisis among infants. “Thousands of babies in Gaza lack proper nutrition as aid remains severely restricted. Many mothers have been killed or are too malnourished to breastfeed,” she said. “Every minute counts in saving their lives.”
Israeli military operations in West Bank intensifies
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalates, Israel’s military operations have also intensified in the occupied West Bank.
On Monday, Israeli forces raided several towns and refugee camps near Tulkarem, including Zeita, Anabta, and Bal’a. According to the Wafa news agency, soldiers stormed the home of the Ibrahim Abu al-Izz family in Zeita, forced them out at gunpoint, and turned the house into a military post, raising the Israeli flag on its roof.
Armoured bulldozers continued a campaign of demolitions in the Tulkarem refugee camp, reducing homes in the al-Murabba‘a neighbourhood to rubble. A WAFA correspondent reported that the destruction is part of a plan to demolish 104 residential buildings comprising around 400 homes.
Monday marked the 162nd consecutive day of Israeli military operations in the area, which have left widespread damage to homes and public infrastructure, displacing thousands of residents.
Elsewhere in the West Bank, the Nablus Medical Relief Society reported one Palestinian wounded by shrapnel in Balata al-Balad, east of Nablus, after Israeli military vehicles entered the area.
Meanwhile, speculation around a potential ceasefire circulated as former US President Donald Trump, who is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, suggested that a ceasefire with Hamas could be reached this week.
[Photo: Palestinians mourn the loss of their loved ones, killed by an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, Gaza, which reportedly kills several, including children on July 8, 2025. The bodies are collected by relatives from the morgue at Al-Shifa Hospital for funeral prayers and burial. Photojournalist: Ali Jadallah/AA]
