SAEDNEWS: In the deadliest day yet, at least 139 Palestinians—including children fetching water—were killed by Israeli strikes while hundreds more lost their lives under siege conditions as they sought food and relief in Gaza.
According to Saed News, Israeli forces inflicted a devastating toll on Gaza over a single 24‑hour period, killing at least 139 people, among them children attempting to gather water for their hungry families. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that scores of bodies arrived at hospitals, while many remain unaccounted for beneath the rubble.
Medical teams confirmed that at least 24 civilians were struck down near a food distribution point in Rafah run by the Israeli‑ and U.S.‑backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Meanwhile, an air strike on a central Gaza water station claimed the lives of seven children. The Israeli military attributed this tragedy to a “technical malfunction,” asserting the missile fell dozens of metres from its intended target.
Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, decried the killings on social media, urging an “immediate & lasting ceasefire” and demanding that Israel revise its engagement rules to safeguard civilians. Her call follows mounting evidence that aid workers and desperate Palestinians have borne the brunt of the campaign: the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights records nearly 800 deaths at aid sites since late May.
Beyond these horrors, malnutrition surges among Gaza’s youngest. UNICEF warns over 5,800 children have been diagnosed with malnutrition, with more than 1,000 suffering severe acute cases—a crisis exacerbated by a relentless siege that restricts essential food and medical supplies. UNRWA officials report truckloads of relief waiting just beyond Gaza’s borders.
Amnesty International has accused Israel of weaponising starvation and humanitarian manipulation to deepen the enclave’s catastrophe, branding the tactics part of an ongoing genocidal campaign. As the international community presses for unfettered aid access, Gaza’s civilians remain perilously close to the brink of a broader humanitarian collapse.