Israel kills 40 Palestinians in Gaza, famine deaths as flotilla sets sail
As Israel razes more civilian buildings and closes off aid routes, thousands in Tunisia cheered the arrival of the Global Sumud Flotilla, preparing to challenge the blockade
GAZA, Palestine (MNTV) – Israeli air and ground attacks across the Gaza Strip since early morning have left at least 40 Palestinians dead. Health authorities said 25 were killed in the north, 14 in the south, and one in central Gaza.
Hospitals received 67 bodies in the past 24 hours, while more than 320 people were wounded.
Strikes leveled residential homes, tents sheltering displaced families, and even medical and social service centers. In Gaza City, Israeli jets destroyed al-Ruya Tower near al-Azhar University, home to human rights groups, clinics, law firms, and child care centers. It was the fourth major building demolished in two days, raising the total number of high-rises destroyed to at least 50.
A medical source told Anadolu that three people died when missiles hit two homes in Sheikh Radwan, and three more were killed by a drone strike on their tent. In Al-Yarmouk Street, five civilians from one family perished. A helicopter attack in Al-Rimal killed two siblings.
In central Gaza, shelling on the Nuseirat refugee camp killed five and wounded 22. In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, three—including two siblings—died in Al-Mawasi, an area Israel itself had labeled a “humanitarian zone.”
The Health Ministry reported that six more Palestinians, including two children, died from starvation in the last day. That brings the famine-related toll since October 2023 to 393, with 140 children among the dead.
Since the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification formally declared Gaza a famine zone last month, 115 more people have died of hunger, 25 of them children. Israeli authorities have fully sealed Gaza’s borders since March 2, cutting off food and medicine for its 2.4 million residents.
Aid seekers continue to face lethal force. Fourteen Palestinians were killed and 85 wounded in the last 24 hours while trying to collect humanitarian supplies. Since May 27, at least 2,430 people have been killed and nearly 18,000 injured during such efforts.
Jerusalem shooting
Violence also erupted in occupied East Jerusalem, where six people were killed and many more injured in a shooting attack. Israeli officials blamed two Palestinians from the West Bank, who were shot dead by police.
Al Jazeera Arabic, citing Israeli military sources, reported that four Israeli soldiers were killed when an explosive device detonated under a tank in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued raids across the occupied West Bank, arresting Palestinians and destroying homes and farmland.
In Tunisia, thousands thronged the port of Tunis to welcome the Global Sumud Flotilla. Boats carrying aid and activists had sailed from Barcelona, drawing cheers, chants, and Palestinian flags. Among those preparing to join was Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, leading a South African delegation.
The convoy, part of a wider international push to break the blockade and deliver humanitarian supplies, will stay in Tunisia briefly before resuming its journey toward Gaza.
New ceasefire proposal
Hamas said Sunday it had received new ceasefire ideas from the United States through mediators.
In a statement on Telegram, it welcomed any initiative to halt Israel’s aggression and declared readiness to negotiate immediately for a deal that would include prisoner exchanges, an end to the war, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration was “working on a solution that could be good for Gaza,” hours after issuing what he called a “final warning” to Hamas.
Spain meanwhile announced nine measures to stop what it called genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez unveiled an arms embargo, airspace and port restrictions on shipments to Israel, and legal steps to pursue accountability for war crimes.
“The measures aim to stop the genocide in Gaza, pursue its perpetrators and support the Palestinian population,” he said in a televised address.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, at least 64,522 Palestinians have been killed and 163,096 wounded. Thousands remain trapped under rubble, while much of Gaza lies in ruins.
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