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GAZA-At least 63 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Saturday. The deaths came as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City in their effort to capture the area and displace nearly one million residents.
Footage showed Israeli tanks advancing into the Sabra neighborhood, near the heavily bombarded Zeitoun district. A child was reportedly killed in the latest Israeli bombardment of Sabra, Gaza City’s al-Ahli Hospital confirmed.
In southern Gaza, Israeli artillery shelled tents sheltering displaced families in the Asdaa area northwest of Khan Younis, killing 16 people, including six children. Later, at least 22 more Palestinians were killed while trying to obtain humanitarian aid, including two civilians shot dead by Israeli forces near aid distribution points in Khan Younis and along the Netzarim Corridor.
Palestinian health officials also reported that eight people, including two children, died from malnutrition in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of famine-related deaths to 281 since the war began nearly two years ago. Munir al-Bursh, director-general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, said 114 of the victims were children, warning that “the famine is silently ravaging the bodies of civilians” and turning tents and hospitals into “daily scenes of tragedy.”
On Friday, the United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza – the first time such a designation has ever been made in the Middle East. The UN accused Israel of systematically blocking aid deliveries and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the famine a “man-made disaster.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said 514,000 people, nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population, are currently facing famine, with the number expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
