Two reports yesterday from Middle East Eye exemplify the murderous level of violence that Israel is imposing on the population of Gaza on a daily basis. According to the first report, Israeli forces killed more than 130 Palestinians in Gaza in a single day, including several children who were attempting to collect water for their hungry families in the besieged enclave [the IDF blamed the killings on a technical failure—CJO].
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported on July 13 that at least 139 bodies had been brought to Gaza’s hospitals in the past 24 hours, with a number of unaccounted people presumed dead under rubble. Medical officials told reporters that at least 24 Palestinians had been killed while on their way to a food distribution site near Rafah run by the controversial Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
UNICEF reported that more than 5,800 children had been diagnosed with malnutrition, with more than 1,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition. “This is an emergency situation for the survival of children. Aid must be delivered quickly and on a massive scale,” it stressed.
At the same time, fuel supplies in Gaza are about to run out. The 75,000 liters of fuel that Israel allowed in a couple of days ago doesn’t begin to address the need. In a joint statement issued on July 12, UN humanitarian agencies said fuel supplies in Gaza had “reached critical levels.” Municipalities in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering, announced on July 13 the complete suspension of all essential services, due to the total depletion of fuel.
“When fuel runs out, it places an unbearable new burden on a population teetering on the edge of starvation,” the UN said in its statement. “Without adequate fuel, UN agencies responding to this crisis will likely be forced to halt their operations entirely, directly impacting all essential services in Gaza. This means no health care, no clean water and no capacity to deliver humanitarian aid.”
