Multiple deaths reported, including 38 Palestinians seeking aid at distribution sites, according to sources.
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Sixty-two Palestinians, primarily those seeking aid, have been killed due to Israeli fire in Gaza since Saturday morning. This information comes from hospital sources in the besieged enclave.
The death toll includes 38 Palestinians who were seeking aid at distribution sites run by the controversial United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
These casualties are the latest reported near GHF-operated sites, despite Israel’s recent announcement to implement “tactical pauses” in fighting to allow Palestinians better access to humanitarian aid.
While Israel initiated daily pauses in military operations on July 27, 105 Palestinians were reportedly killed while trying to access food on Wednesday and Thursday alone.
As of Friday, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to access aid, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Additionally, 169 Palestinians, including 93 children, have died of starvation or malnutrition since the onset of Israel’s war in October 2023, per data from Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
There have been reports of Israeli soldiers and American security contractors hired by the GHF intentionally firing on aid seekers near distribution sites.
Amidst growing international criticism, Israel has recently allowed airdrops of aid into the enclave from countries such as Jordan, UAE, Egypt, Spain, Germany, and France.
However, humanitarian organizations like UNRWA have argued that the airdrops are insufficient and have called for Israel to enable the unimpeded flow of assistance via land.
Gaza’s Government Media Office stated that only 36 aid trucks entered the enclave on Saturday, far short of the 600 trucks required to meet the population’s humanitarian needs.
In Khan Younis, an attack by Israeli forces on a Palestine Red Crescent Society headquarters resulted in the death of a staffer and the injury of three others.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza that Palestinians have not experienced any improvement in their circumstances, despite recent aid deliveries.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, stated that Gaza is facing a famine largely caused by the attempts to replace UN-led aid systems with the politically driven GHF.
“Sidelining & weakening UNRWA has nothing to do with claims of aid diversion to armed groups. It is a deliberate measure to collectively pressure & punish Palestinians for living in Gaza,” Lazzarini remarked.
UNICEF has warned that the malnutrition in Gaza has surpassed the famine threshold, with 320,000 young children at risk of severe malnutrition.
“We are at a crucial junction, and the decisions made now will determine whether tens of thousands of children will survive or perish,” stated Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/3/israeli-forces-kill-62-palestinians-in-gaza-since-dawn-medics-say?traffic_source=rss
