Gaza reels from Israeli strikes as starvation and water crisis deepen
At least 71 Palestinians killed in a single day, including families sheltering in schools and tents, while aid seekers come under fire
GAZA, Palestine (MNTV) – The death toll in Gaza climbed sharply Friday as Israeli airstrikes, artillery fire, and drone attacks killed at least 71 Palestinians across the enclave, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The latest attacks struck homes, tents for the displaced, schools sheltering civilians, and even water facilities, leaving survivors trapped between bombardment and growing hunger.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera that 52 people were killed since dawn alone, including 36 in Gaza City, where bombardments are most intense.
Anadolu reported that Israeli artillery shelled a school in Sheikh Ridwan neighborhood, killing 18 people, among them women and children. Dozens were injured. In the same neighborhood, a family of five, including three children, died when a tent sheltering them was hit.
Bodies of four Palestinians were also pulled from rubble in Zeitoun and Sabra, while drone and airstrikes killed more in Tuffah, Shujaiya, Shati refugee camp, and Sabra. A couple and their two daughters died in Shati after their residential building was struck. In central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, two more Palestinians were killed when suicide drones hit an apartment.
The humanitarian crisis deepened further as Israeli forces reportedly opened fire on civilians waiting for aid deliveries in southern Gaza, killing three. Five others were killed in Khan Younis when a tent near a university building was hit. Another strike targeted a water desalination plant in Asdaa city, killing two and wounding displaced civilians waiting for water.
An abandoned house in Khan Younis refugee camp was also struck, injuring several. Medical staff in Nasser Medical Complex confirmed that a five-month-old baby died of starvation and malnutrition, worsened by congenital conditions.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 271 people—including 112 children—have died from starvation and malnutrition since the war began.
Starvation and water crisis
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) accused Israel of deliberately depriving Palestinians of clean water, calling water “a weapon of war.”
The group said that after 22 months of bombardment and restrictions, safe water is “wholly insufficient.” Only one in ten requests for desalination equipment has been approved since June 2024.
MSF’s seven treatment units supply water for 65,000 people, averaging 7.5 liters per person per day — far below emergency survival needs.
CBS News reported that American subcontractors working with the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation were involved in firing on civilians at Israeli aid distribution sites. An employee of a US logistics firm described witnessing subcontractors opening fire alongside Israeli soldiers.
After nearly two years of war, Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 62,263 people have been killed and 157,365 wounded. The enclave remains trapped under blockade, facing bombardment, mass displacement, and a collapsing humanitarian system.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
