Shafaq News – Gaza / Ramallah

At least 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since dawn, Palestinian media reported on Thursday, citing medical sources.

The Palestinian Information Center said strikes targeted several areas, including Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that more than 2,000 people have died while trying to access food aid, many of them near distribution points reportedly run by mercenaries, including anti-Muslim groups. He urged immediate, large-scale humanitarian access to address the famine that has killed 404 Palestinians, including 141 children, since the war began.

Read more: Gaza's spiral: Famine and conflict lead to irreversible collapse

Amnesty International condemned a new Israeli evacuation order for Gaza City, describing it as “cruel and unlawful.” The group argued that the directive forces civilians into overcrowded shelters or camps under constant bombardment and constitutes “war crimes.”

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s offensive has killed 64,656 Palestinians and injured more than 163,500, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Read more: A Chorus of outcry: NGOs decry Israel's actions as Gaza faces unprecedented suffering

In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israeli forces carried out pre-dawn raids across Tulkarm, Salfit, Ramallah, al-Khalil, Jenin, and Jerusalem, arresting dozens. Settlers also vandalized homes and painted racist graffiti in Atara, north of Ramallah, while torching two Palestinian vehicles overnight in Bethlehem’s al-Maniya village.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands detained across the West Bank since hostilities started.