Israeli strikes kill 140 in Gaza in 24 hours; Palestinians say world’s focus has shifted to Iran conflict

Cairo: Israeli gunfire and strikes killed at least 140 people across Gaza in the past 24 hours, local health officials said, as some Palestinians in the strip said their plight was being forgotten while attention shifted to the air war between Israel and Iran.

At least 40 of the total number killed in the past day died as a result of Israeli gunfire and airstrikes on Wednesday, Gaza's health ministry said. The deaths included the latest in near daily killings of Palestinians seeking aid in the three weeks since Israel partially lifted a total blockade on the territory.

Medics said separate airstrikes on homes in the Maghazi refugee camp, the Zeitoun neighbourhood and Gaza City in central and northern Gaza killed at least 21 people, while five others were killed in an airstrike on an encampment in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.


Fourteen more people were killed in Israeli fire at crowds of displaced Palestinians awaiting aid trucks brought in by the United Nations along the Salahuddin road in central Gaza, medics said.

In response to a request for comment about the Salahuddin road incident, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that despite repeated warnings that the area was an active combat zone, individuals approached troops operating in the Nuseirat area in the central Gaza Strip in a manner that posed a threat to forces.

Troops fired warning shots, it said, adding that it was unaware of injuries. Regarding other strikes, the IDF said it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities" while taking "feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm."