At least 14 people have been killed in bombings targeting tents in a refugee camp in southern Gaza early on Saturday morning, according to staff at Nasser Hospital for the news agency AP. More than half of the dead were women and children.
The entire Gaza Strip is being bombed. . . In the south, in the north, everywhere, says Awad Abu Agala, a relative of two of the killed children, to AP.
In northern Gaza, at least five people have been killed by Israeli fire when they tried to get aid, according to a field hospital.
Full-blown famine
The situation is acute – on Friday, the UN-backed body IPC found that there is full-blown famine in Gaza City and its surroundings. Aid organizations have long warned of famine as Israel, during the 22-month war, has periodically shut out all forms of aid from the strip.
Even though some supplies are now being let in, it is far from enough to compensate for the long-term shortages, notes the UN.
Those who try to get aid also do so at the risk of their lives.
Over 1,800 aid seekers killed
Between May 27 and August 17, the UN human rights body OHCHR has documented 1,857 cases where Palestinians have been killed when trying to get food.
The Israeli military seems to be behind most of the killings, says spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan to AFP.
In total, at least 61 people have been killed and 308 injured in the past 24 hours in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled health authorities in the area, reports The Guardian. Several of the victims are still under rubble and on the streets without ambulance and civil defense personnel being able to reach them.
Israel's military has not commented on Saturday's death toll.
