The death toll from Israel's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip has now surpassed 60,000, amid mounting warnings of catastrophic famine spreading across the territory. Growing accusations charge that Israel is weaponising starvation as a tool of collective punishment, even as international calls intensify for an immediate ceasefire and the urgent opening of humanitarian corridors. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Thursday that 98 people were killed and 1,079 injured in the past 24 hours alone, including 39 killed and 849 injured while attempting to access humanitarian aid. An additional seven deaths from starvation and malnutrition were recorded, among them one child, bringing the total number of famine-related deaths to 169—including 93 children. In response to the deepening crisis, aircraft from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, and France airdropped 90 packages of humanitarian aid containing food to the northern and southern parts of Gaza in recent hours. Since the war began on 7 October 2023, a total of 60,430 people have been killed and 148,722 injured. More than 9,200 have died since mid-March 2025 alone, underscoring the sustained intensity of the violence despite growing international pressure for de-escalation. In southern Gaza, Al-Qassam Brigades—the armed wing of Hamas—announced that it shelled Israeli troop gatherings near the Al-Rantisi Mosque in Khan Younis. The group also released a new video showing captured Israeli soldier Avitar David, who said: "I haven't eaten in days... Netanyahu has abandoned us. Everything we were raised to believe in Israel was a lie. I am digging my own grave." The military operations unfold against the backdrop of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. UNICEF has warned that children in Gaza are dying at an "unprecedented rate" due to famine. "You see the pictures on the news, but it's much worse on the ground," said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, following a recent visit to the region. He called for the immediate entry of at least 500 aid trucks daily. Despite these urgent appeals, only 73 aid trucks managed to enter Gaza last Friday, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza. Many of these trucks were looted amid rising lawlessness, which the office accused Israel of deliberately fomenting as part of a "policy of engineered chaos and starvation." The office stressed that Gaza requires no fewer than 600 trucks daily to meet even the basic survival needs of its besieged population, as infrastructure collapses. The Palestinian government issued an urgent plea to the international community to pressure Israel into reopening border crossings immediately. It warned that food insecurity in Gaza has reached 100%, according to specialised UN agencies, and reiterated accusations that Israel is "weaponising hunger," demanding swift intervention to end the blockade. Meanwhile, Hamas rejected claims by US envoy Steve Witkoff suggesting the group was prepared to disarm, dismissing his visit to a Gaza aid distribution centre as a "prearranged theatrical stunt" intended to "whitewash the occupation" and justify the starvation policy. Hamas reaffirmed that resistance and armed struggle remain a legal and national right as long as the occupation persists. In Washington, The Atlantic reported that US President Donald Trump has grown convinced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prolonging the war on Gaza to cling to power—a sentiment increasingly echoed in policy circles. Separately, The Guardian quoted UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who described Israeli gunfire on civilians waiting for aid as "disgusting," calling for accountability and an immediate ceasefire.
