Israeli forces have killed at least 53 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip and flattened 16 buildings in Gaza City including three residential towers as they press an offensive to seize control of the northern enclave.
Medical officials said 35 of the dead were killed in Gaza City on Sunday. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported two additional deaths from malnutrition, bringing the total death toll from hunger to 422 since the war began.
Towers Marked and Destroyed
In Gaza City’s Remal neighborhood, the Israeli military marked the al-Kawthar tower as a target before launching missile strikes that destroyed it two hours later. The bombardment has forced tens of thousands of people to flee.
“We don’t know where to go,” said Marwan al-Safi, a displaced resident. “We need a solution to this situation… We are dying here.”
Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned what it called Israel’s “systematic bombing” of civilian infrastructure, accusing the military of deliberately targeting schools, mosques, hospitals, and humanitarian organizations.
UNRWA Buildings Hit
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said 10 of its buildings—including seven schools and two clinics sheltering thousands of displaced people were struck in Gaza City in the past four days.
“No place is safe in Gaza. No one is safe,” he wrote on X.
‘Safe Zones’ Under Fire
Despite Israeli assurances that al-Mawasi is a designated “safe zone,” displaced families reported that bombardments continued even there.
Ahmed Awad, who fled northern Gaza under mortar fire, described arriving at al-Mawasi to find “no water, no toilets, nothing. Families are sleeping in the open. The situation is extremely dire.”
Others spoke of severe shortages of food, water, and shelter. “Not only are missiles raining down on us, but famine is devouring us too,” said AbedAllah Aram, another displaced Palestinian. “Displacement is as painful as eviscerating one’s soul out of the body.”
UNICEF: No Safe Haven
UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram said conditions in al-Mawasi are deteriorating rapidly as the camp grows more overcrowded. She recalled meeting a woman, Seera, who went into labor while evacuating Gaza City and was forced to give birth on the side of the road.
“She is just one of many families struggling to access the basics they need to survive,” Ingram said.
