Israeli attacks kill four as famine risk looms in Gaza

Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed four Palestinians, including a child, in the past 24 hours as the Israeli military continues to seize more territory inside the enclave.

This comes amid warnings from a rights group that Gaza could face another famine as Israeli restrictions on incoming goods leave residents struggling to obtain food.

The deaths on Thursday included a young girl who was killed by Israeli gunfire in northern Gaza near the Jabalia refugee camp, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said a strike on a vehicle in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood killed one person and seriously injured another.

A separate strike killed a man on a bicycle in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that a fourth person had died on Thursday of wounds sustained earlier in an Israeli strike.

Along with the deadly attacks, the Israeli military continues to grab more land inside Gaza. Close to two million people live in what remains of the shrinking territory, which is littered with thousands of tonnes of rubble and debris.

“Israel is expanding their control inside Gaza,” Mahmoud explained, noting that Israeli troops have been “taking more land since the ‘ceasefire'” and expanding from northern Gaza inward to the centre and westward.

“People cannot return to their homes, and most buildings in the areas Israel controls have been left in ruins,” the reporter said.

Al Jazeera’s maps have shown that nearly two-thirds of Gaza is under Israeli military control or subject to access restrictions.

At least 1,538 Palestinians have been killed and 5,498 injured since the “ceasefire” took effect in October last year, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel has killed more than 74,400 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.

Renewed famine risk

The deadly strikes come as Palestinians across Gaza face an escalating food crisis, which has been renewed by Israeli border closures and severe funding shortfalls targeting international relief operations.

The Geneva-based human rights group, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said on Thursday that its teams observed increasingly empty markets and soaring food prices, warning that Gaza could face another famine.

It accused Israel of “deliberately depriving” Palestinians of adequate nutrition as part of its ongoing genocide.

According to the rights group, after Israeli authorities suspended commercial goods deliveries to Gaza on October 13, it announced on October 19 that some imports would be allowed to resume. However, the group said the decision brought little relief, as shipments remained heavily restricted and fresh fruits and vegetables were denied entry.

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced this week that severe funding shortages have forced it to slash food assistance to Gaza by one-third, leaving an estimated 500,000 vulnerable residents without essential monthly support as winter approaches.

According to the United Nations, the supply of fresh food and basic staples has rapidly evaporated due to Israeli restrictions on commercial entry points and aid crossings.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Maram Humaid described a sudden and dramatic disappearance of basic sustenance, leaving local markets empty and families increasingly desperate.

“Food disappeared suddenly – no vegetables, no fruit, no meat, no eggs, no bread – prices skyrocketing,” Humaid reported.

“Today, we didn’t have breakfast until noon, after my husband spent hours looking for bread and any kind of fresh vegetables. He came back with just a few loaves. We’re back to canned beans.”

With no electricity or operational refrigeration across the ruined enclave, households are unable to store fresh provisions even when available.

“Stockpiling seems more limited this time,” Humaid noted. “The shortages started with flour and fresh produce, which people can’t store for long, especially with no refrigerators or electricity. Prices of other goods have gone up, but many people can’t afford to stock up. Others are simply exhausted and have lost hope. I’m one of them.”

Beyond physical deprivation, the psychological toll on residents forced to navigate overcrowded shops with dwindling inventory has reached a breaking point.

“It’s the whole experience – the panic and fear that come with shopping to stock up. You find yourself looking at every food item as if it might be the last time you’ll ever see it, saying goodbye to it. Everyone around you is gripped by the same panic, and the shops are unbelievably crowded,” Humaid said, adding that the experience is one many feel they “can’t go through all over again”.