Gaza: Israel kills more than 130 Palestinians in 24 hours
Israeli forces killed more than 130 Palestinians in Gaza in a single day, including several children who were attempting to collect water for their hungry families in the besieged enclave.
The Palestinian health ministry reported on Sunday that at least 139 bodies had been brought to Gaza's hospitals in the past 24 hours, with a number of unaccounted people presumed dead under the rubble.
Medical officials told reporters that at least 24 Palestinians had been killed whilst on their way to a food distribution site near Rafah run by the controversial Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access aid in Gaza between late May when the GHF launched its operations, and 7 July. Scores more have been killed since then.
Meanwhile, health officials said seven children were killed after an Israeli air strike targeted a water distribution site in central Gaza.
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The Israeli military has claimed that the strike was a result of a "technical malfunction" that had caused the missile to fall "dozens of metres from the target".
In a post on X, Catherine Russell, the executive director of the United Nation's emergency child fund (Unicef), called for "an immediate & lasting ceasefire" following the strike.
"Yet again we're seeing horrific reports of the killing of seven children in Gaza this time as they were waiting for water at a distribution site. This comes just days after several children and women were killed waiting for nutritional supplies.
"The Israeli authorities must urgently review the rules of engagement & ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, notably the protection of civilians, including children."
Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza killed at least 110 Palestinians on Saturday, including 34 people waiting for food at a GHF site in Rafah.
Calls for entry of aid
Meanwhile, Unicef reported that more than 5,800 children had been diagnosed with malnutrition, with more than 1,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition,.
"This is an emergency situation for the survival of children. Aid must be delivered quickly and on a massive scale," it stressed.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), "truckloads of food and medical supplies are waiting in warehouses" outside Gaza.
"Stop the starvation. Lift the siege. Let the UN, including UNRWA, do its lifesaving work," they said in a post on X.
"Food shortages in #Gaza are pushing children to the brink. Without urgent care, they won’t just suffer - they could die," they warned in another statement.
For months, the Israeli military has imposed a tight siege on the Gaza Strip, severely limiting the flow of life-saving essential nutritional relief and medical necessities.
In a report released earlier in July, the UK-based rights group Amnesty International condemned Israel for deliberately using starvation as a weapon for war in Gaza, with the GHF serving as a tool to deepen the humanitarian catastrophe and sustain the ongoing genocide.
The report noted that Israel is systematically inflicting starvation and disease on Palestinians by manipulating humanitarian relief efforts.
“Israel’s genocide has continued unabated in Gaza, including through the infliction of conditions of life that have created a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point,” said Amnesty’s secretary general, Agnes Callamard.
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