By Harun Nasrullah
London, (The Muslim News): The United Nations has sounded the alarm over escalating violence against Palestinians and demolitions of Palestinian properties in the occupied West Bank, warning of a sharp rise in Palestinian casualties at the hands of Israeli forces and armed illegal settlers.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that since January, more than 2,780 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli forces or settlers — a 39 per cent increase on last year. Of these, nearly 500 were hurt in settler attacks, double the number recorded over the same period in 2024.
He also pointed to Israel’s widespread demolition policy. As of Monday, OCHA had documented over 1,150 Palestinian structures demolished for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which Dujarric noted are “almost impossible for any Palestinian to obtain.” Demolitions were up 44 per cent compared with the same period last year.
While the UN highlighted worsening conditions in the West Bank, the crisis in Gaza deepened. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 64,300 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive in October 2023.
In the past 24 hours alone, hospitals received 69 bodies and treated 422 injured, pushing the total number of wounded to more than 162,000.
The ministry also confirmed three additional deaths from starvation, a grim marker of the enclave’s humanitarian collapse.
Rescue efforts remain severely hampered, with victims still trapped beneath the rubble and on roads that emergency teams cannot access.
One of the most devastating incidents was the Israeli strike on Mushtaha Tower in western Gaza City. The building, a residential high-rise, sheltered hundreds of displaced Palestinians. It had already been targeted four times since October. Mushtaha Tower stands in a densely populated area now home to around one million displaced residents, including those in sprawling camps near Kteiba, Al-Azhar University, and Islamic University. The management rejected Israeli claims that militants were operating inside. They stressed, “The building is free of any military or security installations and serves only as shelter for displaced Palestinians. All floors were open and exposed, containing no light or heavy weapons.”
Residents voiced anguish over the destruction. Obadah Saifuddin told Anadolu Agency: “I no longer have a home. What is our crime that the Israeli army destroys our houses in front of our eyes?” Another resident, Nidal Abu Ali, said: “I sought refuge in the tower with my family to protect my children, but Israel has left no safe place in Gaza.”
The Israeli military has since vowed to expand its campaign against multi-storey residential buildings, issuing evacuation orders to families in targeted areas.
Israeli airstrikes and gunfire continued to inflict a heavy toll elsewhere in Gaza. Thirty-four Palestinians, including women and children, were killed on Friday alone in attacks across the Strip.
In the northwest, five people, including a child, died when a vehicle carrying displaced civilians was bombed at al-Tuwam junction. South of Khan Younis, three civilians were shot dead while waiting for aid, while another Palestinian was fatally shot near the Netzarim Corridor.
Further strikes on residential buildings, tents, and vehicles left dozens more dead. Four people were killed in a drone strike on a civilian vehicle on al-Rashid Street west of Deir al-Balah.
In Gaza City, three were killed in the Abu Dhabi Building opposite Al-Khidmah Hospital, and three more died when Israeli warplanes bombed an apartment near the Prosthetics Centre on Yarmouk Market Street in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood.
At the Islamic University campus in Al-Rimal, four displaced Palestinians perished when their tent was struck. Additional fatalities were reported in Tel al-Hawa, Al-Rimal, Al-Sabra, and near the Al-Azhar University intersection and YMCA in western Gaza City.
[Photo: A Palestinian woman, whose home was destroyed, reacts as Mushtaha Tower collapses after being hit by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, Gaza, on September 5, 2025.
Photojournalist: Ali Jadallah/AA]
