Staff Correspondent
Gaza: In the deadliest 24-hour toll in a week, at least 123 Palestinians were killed as Israeli forces escalated attacks on Gaza City ahead of a planned ground invasion, health officials reported Wednesday. Airstrikes and tank shelling targeted eastern neighborhoods, reducing homes to rubble in Zeitoun and Shejaiya, while renewed assaults hit Khan Younis in the south.
Mass Casualties: Al-Ahli Hospital reported 12 killed in a single airstrike, while medics said nine Palestinians were shot dead while seeking aid in central Gaza.
Starvation Crisis: Eight more deaths—including three children—from malnutrition raised the famine-linked toll to 235 since the war began, over half of them minors. Israel disputes the figures.
Aid Shortfalls: Though Israel permitted 320 aid trucks and airdropped 97 pallets, UN agencies say deliveries fall far below Gaza’s desperate needs.
Israeli troops, aiming to recapture Gaza City, face weeks of fighting, officials admit. Residents described relentless bombardments, with smoke billowing over bomb-scarred streets and a shattered cemetery.
Bottom Line: As civilian casualties mount and hunger spreads, international calls grow to halt the offensive and accelerate aidbut no end appears in sight.