A Palestinian woman cries as she carries the body of a baby killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza City at dawn, before a funeral procession outside the Al-Shifa hospital on September 4, 2025. AFP
According to a ministry statement, the overall death toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which began on 7 October 2023, has reached 64,231, with 161,583 people injured.
“In the past 24 hours alone, hospitals have received 17 aid-seekers killed by Israeli fire and 174 others wounded, raising the total number of Palestinians killed while seeking aid to 2,356, with more than 17,244 injured,” the ministry reported.
The statement added that many victims remain under rubble or in the streets, where ambulances and rescue crews cannot reach them due to ongoing bombardment.
At the same time, Israel’s blockade is worsening the famine in Gaza. The ministry confirmed that three people, including children, died from starvation and malnutrition on Thursday alone, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 370, among them 131 children.
On Wednesday, six Palestinians — including one child — died of hunger. On Tuesday, 13 people, including three children, also died, marking the deadliest single day of famine since the start of Israel’s war of starvation.
Health officials in Gaza say deaths from malnutrition are rising as Israeli authorities continue to block food and essential medical supplies.
Two weeks ago, the United Nations formally declared famine in Gaza under the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global standard for measuring food crises. Yet, Palestinian and international groups said little has changed since, and widespread hunger continues.
Meanwhile, Israel has begun the early stages of a ground invasion into Gaza City, raising fears of further mass displacement and worsening food shortages.
Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, told Al Jazeera that international action has come too late, warning that famine will intensify in central Gaza and in Khan Younis in the south in the coming weeks.
He noted that Gaza’s residents have already been forced to flee multiple times and warned that more displacement is likely as Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza City.
De Schutter also said nearly 2,000 Palestinians have been killed near aid distribution centres since May, when the Israeli- and US-backed “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” began overseeing the entry of supplies.
According to him, Israel is using this mechanism to pressure civilians into relocating to other parts of the strip.
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