Anadolu via Getty ImagesSeven more people have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian territory has said.
It says the total number of malnutrition deaths since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023 has now reached 154 – including 89 children.
On Tuesday, UN-backed global food security experts warned that the worst-case scenario of famine is “currently playing out” in Gaza.
Israel says it is not imposing restrictions on aid entering Gaza – those claims are not accepted by its close allies in Europe, the UN and other agencies active in Gaza.
Meanwhile, US special envoy Steve Witkoff will on Thursday travel to Israel to discuss the crisis.
The trip will mark Witkoff’s first visit to Israel in nearly three months, and comes less than a week after both the US and Israel recalled their delegations from Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar. Washington accused Hamas negotiators of not appearing to be “acting in good faith.”
In a separate development, Gaza hospital sources told the BBC six Palestinians were killed near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution centre in the Rafah area in southern Gaza, on Wednesday morning.
The sources said crowds had attempted to enter the distribution centre shortly ahead of its opening and were attacked by an Israeli tank.
The GHF told the BBC no killings took place at or near its sites today.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) told the BBC a “gathering of suspects” it said posed a threat to its troops were told to move away, and subsequently the army fired “warning shots” at a distance of “hundreds of metres away” from the distribution centre.
The military also said “an initial review suggests that the number of casualties reported does not align with the information held by the IDF”.
There have been almost daily deadly incidents reported near GHF aid sites, with Palestinians regularly accusing the Israeli military or security contractors of opening fire at them and killing aid seekers.
The IDF has disputed the death tolls.
In a statement later on Wednesday, the Hamas-run health ministry said 103 people had been killed and one body recovered from the rubble in the last 24 hours. Among those killed, according to the statement, were 60 people who died seeking aid.
Separately, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Wednesday evening that two hospitals had received six bodies after an incident involving people waiting for humanitarian aid in the Zikim area.
The PRCS said the hospitals were also treating 274 injured people from the same incident and gave no further details.
Sources told the BBC just 109 lorries with aid entered Gaza on Tuesday. Almost none of them reached their destination, being looted after they crossed the border.
In scenes that have become familiar, vehicles carrying sacks of flour were overwhelmed by desperate crowds – some securing it for their families, others to sell it.
The UN estimates that at least 600 aid trucks are needed every day to start addressing the crisis in Gaza.
Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on the group to release its remaining Israeli hostages.
Although the blockade was partially eased after almost two months amid warnings of a looming famine from global experts, the shortages of food, medicine and fuel have worsened.
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
The Hamas-run health authorities say 60,138 people have been killed as a result of the Israeli military campaign.
In a separate development, Israel has reacted furiously to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions including agreeing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the UK’s stance rewarded “Hamas’ monstrous terrorism”.
A British-Israeli woman held hostage by Hamas said Sir Keir was “not standing on the right side of history”. Emily Damari, who was released in January after being held by Hamas for more than 15 months, said the prime minister “risks rewarding terror”.
