Deadly Israeli strikes hit Gaza as famine announcement raises pressure

Palestinians sheltering in tents or seeking food were among at least 33 people killed by Israeli strikes and shootings in Gaza, medics said, as the world confronts an exceptional announcement that famine is now gripping its largest city.

The famine determination by the world’s leading authority on food crises galvanised governments and aid groups to intensify their pleas for Israel to halt its 22-month offensive on Gaza, prompted by Hamas’ attacks on October 7 2023.

Aid groups have warned for months that the war and Israel’s restrictions of food into Gaza are causing starvation among civilians.

Israel denounced the famine declaration as lies and the military is pressing ahead with preparations to seize Gaza City.

Efforts toward a ceasefire that could forestall the offensive are on hold as mediators await Israel’s next steps.

Israeli strikes killed at least 17 people in the southern Gaza Strip early on Saturday, according to morgue records and health officials at Nasser Hospital.

The officials said the strikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, which became home to hundreds of thousands who had fled from elsewhere in Gaza. More than half of the dead were women and children.

In northern Gaza, Israeli gunfire killed at least five aid-seekers on Saturday near the Zikim crossing with Israel, where the UN and other agencies’ convoys enter the enclave, health officials at the Sheikh Radwan field hospital said.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said cameraman Khaled al-Madhoun was killed while covering events at the Zikim crossing, and said that he was targeted by Israeli troops.

The local Palestine TV confirmed his death.

Eleven people were killed in other attacks on Gaza elsewhere on Saturday, according to hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel’s military said it was not aware of a strike in Khan Younis at that location and was looking into the other incidents.

AP journalists have seen chaos on roads leading to aid deliveries, and there have been almost daily reports of Israeli troops firing towards aid-seekers.

Israel’s military says it fires warning shots if people approach troops or pose a threat.

On Friday, a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said Gaza City is gripped by famine that is likely to spread if fighting and restrictions on humanitarian aid continue.

It was a rare pronouncement by the group, its first in the Middle East, and came after Israel imposed a two-and-a-half-month blockade on Gaza earlier this year, then eased access with a focus on a new US-backed private aid supplier, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

In response to global outrage over images of emaciated children, Israel in recent weeks has allowed airdrops and a new influx of aid entering by land, but UN and other aid agencies say the food reaching Gaza is still not nearly enough.

Journalists have seen chaos and security problems on roads leading to aid deliveries, and there have been reports of Israeli troops firing towards people seeking aid.

Israel’s military says warning shots are fired if individuals approach the troops or pose a threat to soldiers.

The IPC said nearly half a million people in Gaza, about a quarter of the population, face catastrophic hunger that leaves many at risk of dying. It said hunger has been magnified by widespread displacement and the collapse of food production.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denounced the IPC report as “an outright lie”, and accuses Hamas of starving the hostages. Israel says it has allowed enough aid to enter during the war.

With ground troops already active in strategic areas, the widescale operation in Gaza City could start within days.

Aid group Doctors without Borders (MSF) said on Saturday its clinics around Gaza City are seeing high numbers of patients as people flee recent bombardments.

The group said in a statement that “strikes are forcing people, including MSF staff, to flee their homes once again, and we are seeing displacement across Gaza City″.

The Israeli military has said troops are operating on the outskirts of Gaza City and in the city’s Zeitoun area.