By Harun Nasrullah
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 63 Palestinians early Saturday, including 19 children, seven women, and other civilians waiting for humanitarian aid. The latest surge in attacks comes amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis, as access to lifesaving assistance continues to be disrupted by unrelenting Israeli bombings.
According to the Gaza Civil Defence, residential areas in Jabalia, Al-Tuffah, and the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City were targeted, with at least 23 apartment buildings flattened. Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence, described the destruction as “widespread,” stating that entire neighbourhoods in Jabalia and Khan Younis had been levelled. He added that rescue efforts were severely hampered by fuel shortages, destroyed infrastructure, and restricted access to bombed areas.
In Al-Tuffah, at least 20 people, including nine children, were killed in airstrikes that struck homes, shelters, and public areas. Near the Yafa School shelter centre in the same neighbourhood, eight civilians — five of them children — along with a woman were killed as they sought refuge. Another 27 people were injured in that strike alone. In a separate incident, 11 more people died when Israeli shelling hit a popular market in Al-Tuffah.
Additional fatalities were reported across northern and central Gaza. In Jabalia al-Balad, two civilians were killed when an airstrike struck their home. Northwest of Gaza City, a missile hit the Adnan Al-Alami School — which was housing displaced families — killing two Palestinians, including a child, and injuring 12 others. In Deir al-Balah, two more people were killed in an Israeli attack east of the city.
Three others died in a strike on the Al-Saftawi area in northern Gaza. South of Gaza City, two civilians were shot dead while waiting to receive humanitarian aid.
Further south, in the Al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, six people were killed and several more injured after an airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced families.
In Khan Younis and Rafah, multiple strikes killed at least seven more civilians, many of whom were queuing for food aid. According to medical staff, Israeli forces opened fire on a group of people waiting near a distribution point west of Rafah, killing seven and injuring many others. A separate shooting near the Netzarim corridor, where aid is coordinated under a controversial US-Israeli mechanism, left at least 10 people wounded by live ammunition.
Since the start of its military campaign in October 2023, Israel has killed at least 56,412 Palestinians and wounded over 133,000, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The overwhelming majority of victims have been women and children. Hospitals such as Al-Awda and Al-Ahli are overwhelmed, running on depleted supplies and operating without sufficient anaesthetics, antibiotics, or power.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Saturday that around 112 children are being hospitalised each day in Gaza due to severe malnutrition — a consequence of Israel’s siege and ongoing bombardment. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the situation has “surpassed catastrophic levels.”
Of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, only 17 remain partially functional. None are operating in the hardest-hit areas of northern Gaza or Rafah, leaving hundreds of thousands without medical care.
West Bank
Meanwhile, violence by Israeli forces and illegal settlers has also surged in the occupied West Bank.
In the town of Yabrud, east of Ramallah, illegal Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian farmland, destroying large swathes of olive groves and grassland. According to residents, settlers blocked attempts to extinguish the fires.
In Khirbet Samra, in the Northern Jordan Valley, six Palestinian families — comprising more than 25 people — were forced to dismantle their homes and flee amid escalating settler violence. Mahdi Draghmeh, head of the local village council, said the community has endured repeated attacks for years, but the situation has worsened since October. Families now face raids, blocked access to grazing lands, and starvation of their livestock.
The cumulative toll of these events has renewed urgent international appeals for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access. Aid agencies and human rights organisations continue to call for the protection of civilians and compliance with international law. As airstrikes persist and infrastructure crumbles, Gaza’s civilian population faces an ever-deepening crisis with no end in sight.
[Photo: Palestinians walk toward the aid distribution point in the Netzarim Corridor under the shadow of widespread destruction by Israeli forces in Gaza on June 28, 2025. Despite Israeli attacks and ongoing blockade conditions, civilians continue their daily struggle to access food and humanitarian assistance. Photojournalist: Dawoud Abo Alkas/AA]
