Over 70 Palestinians Reportedly Killed in Gaza as Fears Over Displacement Grow

Israeli fire killed over 70 Palestinians in Gaza since Sunday morning, and wounded over 300 people, Gazan health officials reported.

While talks of a potential hostage deal are gaining traction, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu setting off for the White House and a negotiating team heading to Doha, in Gaza, concerns only grow.

Palestinians in Gaza fear both an escalation in Israeli airstrikes and further displacement of residents toward the coastal zone. The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, issued an urgent evacuation order for residents of several neighborhoods in Khan Yunis to evacuate westward to the al-Mawasi area.

Widespread Israeli airstrikes, accompanied by soldiers’ artillery fire, were reported across the embattled enclave – from Jabalya and Shujaiyeh in the north; through Nuseirat and Bureij in the center; to Rafah and Khan Yunis in the territory’s south. Gaza’s Health Ministry deemed Sunday one of the deadliest 24-hour periods since the war began.

The Israel Air Force reportedly targeted homes, tents housing displaced families, schools used as shelters, and major roads such as Omar al-Mukhtar Street in Gaza City.

Local reports described repeated bombardments, residential buildings collapsing with people trapped inside, and many casualties among women and children. In Sheikh Radwan, a home sheltering three displaced families was struck. In Bureij, central Gaza, at least seven members of one family were killed in a tent.

Al Jazeera also reported that eight Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced families in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, citing a source at al-Shifa Hospital. A source at the Baptist Hospital confirmed the deaths of five more people in an Israeli strike on the al-Rimal neighborhood, also in western Gaza City.

Hospitals – especially al-Shifa – are struggling to treat the influx of wounded, many of them in critical condition, amid severe shortages of fuel and medical supplies. Rescue crews are facing significant obstacles in reaching strike zones due to intense fire, collapsed roads, and a lack of equipment.

Medical officials in Gaza are warning of rising death tolls due to fuel shortages, Al Jazeera reported. The director of hospitals in Gaza said that the hospital cannot continue providing medical services without fuel. He warned of an increase in patient deaths due to the fuel shortage, saying, “Occupation forces have looted hospitals and their solar panels. We cannot operate ICUs or dialysis units without fuel.”

The director-general of the Palestinian Health Ministry also told Al Jazeera that the fuel crisis is causing patient deaths. “When 40,000 people live in a single square kilometer, it creates a breeding ground for epidemics,” he said. “The occupation is preventing fuel from reaching hospitals – this means death for patients. We don’t want aid soaked in the blood of our children.”

While the IDF claims it is targeting militant infrastructure and rocket launch sites, many civilian homes and non-military structures have also been hit. Among the dead are children, women, and the elderly. The international community has yet to formally respond to the escalation, but graphic videos circulating on social media have triggered public outrage.