THE United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned yesterday that Gaza’s food system has completely collapsed, as famine tightens its grip on the besieged enclave.
The ongoing obstruction of humanitarian aid is leading to the avoidable deaths of countless civilians, the agency said.
According to the UN’s official website, families in Gaza are forced to risk their lives in search of food, and rates of acute malnutrition have doubled among children as infant formula runs out.
Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded many others across the Gaza Strip yesterday, as the ongoing aggression entered its tenth month.
Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis reported that five people were killed and several others injured when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution centre near Rafah, in southern Gaza.
Two Palestinians were also killed in an Israeli airstrike near Hamad Residential City, northwest of Khan Younis, while two more, including a child, were killed in a strike on Al-Fawakher Street in central Gaza City.
At least 35 Palestinians have been killed across the enclave since dawn, including 18 in Gaza City and the northern areas, amid continued airstrikes and ground shelling.
The latest casualties bring the overall official death toll since October 7th, 2023, to 57,418 Palestinians killed and 136,261 injured.
• The initial session of indirect ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel, held in Qatar, concluded without progress, according to two Palestinian sources close to the discussions.
They stated that the Israeli delegation lacked sufficient authority to finalise an agreement with Hamas.
‘After the first session of indirect negotiations in Doha, the Israeli delegation is not sufficiently authorised and is not authorised to reach an agreement with Hamas, as it has no real powers,’ they noted.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday there is ‘a good chance’ a Gaza captive release and ceasefire deal could be reached with Hamas this week.
‘I think we’re close to a deal on Gaza; we could have it this week. There’s a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week pertaining to quite a few of the hostages. You know, we’ve got a lot of the hostages out. But we think we’ll have that done this week,’ Trump told reporters.