Islamabad (Web-Desk); Israeli forces have intensified their air and ground operations across Gaza, killing at least 82 Palestinians — including nine people who were waiting for aid — within just 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
This latest surge in violence comes amid fragile ceasefire negotiations and growing condemnation of Israeli plans to forcibly displace Palestinians toward Rafah.
Among Thursday’s casualties were 15 people — nine children and four women — who were killed in an Israeli airstrike as they queued for nutritional aid for children in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.
The same attack left at least 30 others wounded, 19 of whom were children.Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, denounced the targeting of families seeking humanitarian assistance, calling it “unconscionable.”
She warned of the dire consequences of inadequate aid reaching Gaza, stressing that children are on the brink of starvation and that cases of malnutrition will continue to rise without an immediate scale-up of life-saving assistance. Russell urged Israel to fully adhere to international humanitarian law and to launch an investigation into the incident.
Hamas also condemned the strike, describing it as part of Israel’s “ongoing campaign of genocide” and accusing Tel Aviv of systematically escalating “brutal massacres” against civilians — targeting schools, streets, displacement camps, and other non-military sites in what the group called a clear act of ethnic cleansing.
The conflict has now dragged on for nine months. Since Israel’s military campaign began, at least 57,762 Palestinians have been killed and another 137,656 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, talks mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have continued this week in an effort to broker a ceasefire. Hamas has signaled its willingness to release 10 captives as part of what is expected to be a 60-day pause in fighting, but says key issues remain unresolved, particularly regarding the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking from Washington, DC, where he was wrapping up high-level meetings, said Israel was still pursuing a deal that would see a temporary 60-day halt to fighting and the release of roughly half of the 50 captives believed to remain in Gaza.
However, he made clear that any permanent end to hostilities would only be possible if Hamas agrees to disarm and relinquish both its governing authority and military capabilities in Gaza. “If this can be achieved through negotiations, so much the better,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “If not, we will achieve it through other means — by force.”
The tense negotiations also face a new complication: earlier this week, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a controversial plan to forcibly relocate Palestinians into a tent city in Rafah, southern Gaza. UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai warned such a plan would effectively create “massive concentration camps at the border with Egypt,” stressing that the world cannot remain silent or complicit in such large-scale forced displacement.
As the humanitarian toll continues to rise, international calls are mounting for an immediate ceasefire and meaningful protection for Gaza’s civilians.
