An injured child reacts following Israeli bombardment on al-Bureij, as she sits on the floor at a ward at the Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: United Nations agencies warned Wednesday that over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by the middle of next month if hostilities continue.
The World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a joint report that hunger is worsening because of heavy restrictions on humanitarian access and the collapse of the local food system in the nearly eight-month of war.
It says the situation remains dire in northern Gaza, which has been surrounded and largely isolated by Israeli troops for months. Israel recently opened land crossings in the north but they are only able to facilitate truck loads in the dozens each day for hundreds of thousands of people.
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[8:50pm Doha Time] Qatar welcomes Slovenian Parliament's ratification of govt decision to recognise the State of Palestine
The State of Qatar welcomed the Slovenian Parliament's ratification of the government's decision to recognise the State of Palestine, and considered it an important step that reflects the growing support of the international community for the two-state solution towards achieving peace and stability in the region. Read more.
[3pm Doha Time] Occupation Forces commits four new massacres in Gaza Strip
An injured child reacts while sitting next to another on the floor following Israeli bombardment on al-Bureij, at a ward at the Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) murdered at least 36,586 Palestinians and injured at least 83,074 others since the beginning of its ongoing genocide on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023.
Health authorities in Gaza said in a statement today that the IOF committed four massacres against Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip, murdering 36 Palestinians and wounding 115 others, in the past 24 hours, explaining that many victims remain either under the rubble or on the streets, as the IOF has been preventing ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them.
Displaced civilians flee from the east of al-Bureij in the central gaza Strip due to Israeli bombardment on the city on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
On its 243rd day, the Israeli occupation's extreme and unprecedented aggression on the Gaza Strip continues from all sides (air, land and sea), murdering and injuring tens of thousands of Palestinians, cutting all means to deliver supplies of food, water, medicine, and fuel to them, and causing a humanitarian catastrophe of countless martyrs, wounded and missing civilians, as well as a massive destruction of vital infrastructure and facilities in the Gaza Strip.
[2:30pm Doha Time] Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll rises to 36,586
A woman reacts as displaced Palestinian civilians flee from the east of al-Bureij in the central gaza Strip due to Israeli bombardment on the city on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
The health ministry in Gaza said Wednesday that at least 36,586 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of war between Israel and Hamas.
The toll includes at least 36 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 83,074 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
[2pm Doha Time] Israel pounds Gaza as mediators discuss ceasefire plan
Palestinians pray over the bodies of people killed in an Israeli strike, at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central gaza Strip on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Israel's military pounded central Gaza with heavy air strikes on Wednesday as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators planned to resume talks on a truce and hostage release deal.
Urban combat and shelling rocked Gaza's southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border.
But fighting has also flared again in central areas, where the army said "troops have started operational activity in the areas of Bureij and eastern Deir al-Balah, both above and below ground".
Bombardment of central Gaza killed 11 people near the Al-Maghazi camp and two near Deir al-Balah, said witnesses and Palestinian civil defence and hospital officials.
Families rushed the wounded, including children, to hospitals in the area, where AFP reporters said civilians were once more packing their belongings on pickup trucks and onto wheelchairs to flee.
[12pm Doha Time] Dozens of martyrs, wounded recovered from Central Gaza
Displaced civilians flee from the east of al-Bureij in the central gaza Strip due to Israeli bombardment on the city on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Medical teams and civil defense were able to recover dozens of bodies of martyrs and wounded people from the eastern region of the central Gaza Strip.
Last night, the occupation army launched violent ground and air bombardment on Bureij and Maghazi camps, the village of Al-Masdar, and the city of Deir Al-Balah, (WAFA) news agency reported.
Ambulances and civilian vehicles are still transferring the martyrs and wounded to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, WAFA added.
[11am Doha Time] UNRWA announces water desalination plants shut down in Gaza due to no fuel
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced that water desalination plants have shut down in the Gaza Strip in light of the continued Israeli aggression against the Strip.
The Agency said in a statement that the desalination plants have shut down due to the running out of fuel in the coastal enclave needed to operate them.
A woman reacts following Israeli bombardment on al-Bureij as she stands outside the Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
UNRWA explained that the residents of the Gaza Strip no longer have enough water, which has put them in front of great challenges to survive.
"Survival is a struggle. Families and children walk long distances in the heat for water," UNRWA said.
"People need water to live Israeli authorities must provide access NOW," UNRWA added.
