Israeli Strikes Claim Numerous Lives in Gaza as U.S.-Supported Aid Efforts Criticized

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on Thursday that Gaza hospitals have received 67 bodies and 184 individuals with injuries over the past 24 hours.

Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency has reported that renewed Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire have resulted in the deaths of at least 44 individuals since the early morning hours.

Forty-four individuals have lost their lives in Israeli operations on the Gaza Strip, as reported by civil defense official Mohammad al-Mughayyir.

A spokesperson reported that the death toll encompasses 23 individuals who perished in a strike targeting a residence in the heart of the beleaguered Palestinian region.

Twenty-three individuals have lost their lives, others have sustained injuries, and several remain missing after an Israeli strike targeted the Qreinawi family’s residence east of the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

Footage emerging from al-Bureij depicts Palestinians meticulously sifting through the debris of a demolished structure.

Mughayyir reported that two individuals were killed and several others injured by gunfire from Israeli forces near the American aid center located on the Morag axis in the southern Gaza Strip this morning.

The Gaza Journalists Syndicate reported that Palestinian journalist Moataz Raja was “assassinated” by Israeli military forces while reporting on the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The syndicate reported that an Israeli attack targeted a vehicle on al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City, resulting in the immediate death of Raja.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of at least 221 journalists.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported that two Palestinians lost their lives during an incident involving the storming of a food warehouse in Deir el-Balah, located in central Gaza.

The Government Media Office in Gaza reported that Israeli military actions have resulted in the deaths of at least 10 Palestinians and injuries to 62 more within a span of two days. This occurred as individuals hurried to receive aid from a distribution center, operating under a collaborative mechanism established by the United States and Israel.

Analysts, activists, and humanitarian organizations have criticized the US-Israeli aid relief initiative in Gaza, labeling it a “mockery” of established humanitarian law.

International aid organizations have raised concerns that Israel’s intentions to regulate aid distribution in Gaza, which includes a proposal supported by the United States, will exacerbate the hardships faced in the beleaguered Palestinian region.

Israel’s far-right ruling coalition, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has expressed support for Trump’s proposals regarding Gaza. These proposals involve permanently relocating Palestinians outside the region and transforming the area into a coastal real estate development.

During a recent visit to several Arab states in the Persian Gulf, the US president commented on aerial photographs depicting the extensive devastation caused by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

“He stated that almost no structures remain intact, emphasizing that there is practically nothing left to salvage.”

In response to international calls to halt its military operations in Gaza, the Israeli government has reportedly sanctioned a strategy that may result in control over the “entire Gaza Strip.”

Arab states have firmly dismissed the plan, while the Palestinian resistance group Hamas has condemned it as ethnic cleansing.

A significant number of Gazans have been forced to relocate at least once amid the ongoing 19-month conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Israel halted the entry of all aid into Gaza on March 2. The situation escalated further on March 18 as hostilities resumed following the breakdown of negotiations aimed at extending a six-week ceasefire.