Escalating Crisis: Israeli Strikes and Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza

At least 11 individuals, including five aid seekers, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting northern Gaza's Jabalia an-Nazla area, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera on Thursday.

As of Thursday, Israel has initiated a mass arrest operation, detaining 12 individuals in the West Bank, comprising journalists, reform activists, and former prisoners. Concurrently, Gaza's Health Ministry has reported four deaths attributed to famine and malnutrition within the past day, including two children, raising the enclave's hunger-related death toll to 317, with 121 children among the casualties.

The southern Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City has witnessed the demolition of over 1,500 homes due to an Israeli ground offensive. Despite objections from Israel and the United States, the UN Security Council declared Gaza's famine a 'man-made crisis' with wide international support.

A policy meeting led by US President Donald Trump, involving former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and ex-Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, focused on the Israeli war in Gaza and subsequent plans for the Palestinian territory, a senior White House official reported. Meanwhile, severe hunger has devastated Gaza's elderly population, reducing many to skeletal conditions in nursing homes.

Israeli military actions have resulted in significant casualties, with at least 62,895 Palestinians killed and 1,58,927 wounded in Gaza. Conversely, the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, resulted in 1,139 Israeli deaths and over 200 captives, according to Al Jazeera.

(With inputs from agencies.)