Gaza: As the world’s attention turns to the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, the people of Gaza are paying a staggering price in lives and silence. In the past 24 hours alone, at least 140 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes, according to Gaza’s health officials. Among the victims are dozens who died while seeking humanitarian aid—another grim chapter in a war that has raged for over 20 months.
Medical sources on the ground reported that 40 of the casualties were caused by airstrikes and gunfire on Wednesday. Israeli attacks struck homes in the Maghazi refugee camp, Zeitoun neighborhood, and Gaza City, killing at least 21 people. Five others lost their lives in Khan Younis when Israeli warplanes hit an aid encampment. In another tragic incident along the Salahuddin road, 14 people were shot and killed as they waited near UN aid trucks—victims of hunger and crossfire.
When asked about the Salahuddin killings, the Israeli Defense Forces claimed the area was an active combat zone and warned civilians to stay away. They said troops fired warning shots after some individuals approached in what they described as a threatening manner. Regarding broader operations, the IDF maintained that it is targeting Hamas positions while taking what it called “feasible precautions” to avoid civilian harm. Yet, since the partial reopening of aid access in late May, over 397 people seeking food have reportedly been killed and more than 3,000 wounded.
Inside Gaza, frustration and fear are growing as the conflict intensifies with little international spotlight. “People are being slaughtered in Gaza, day and night, but attention has shifted to the Iran-Israel war,” said Adel, a resident of Gaza City. “Whoever doesn’t die from Israeli bombs dies from hunger. People risk their lives every day to get food, and they also get killed and their blood smears the sacks of flour they thought they had won.” His words reflect the desperation of a population where starvation has become as deadly as missile strikes.
Since the war began with Hamas’s October 2023 attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and saw 250 taken hostage, Israel’s military offensive has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza, killing over 55,600 and wounding more than 129,000, according to the health ministry. Aid efforts have been deeply constrained. The UN's Philippe Lazzarini condemned the current humanitarian delivery system as "a disgrace and a stain on our collective consciousness," while the World Food Programme called for a dramatic scale-up, saying current supplies meet only a fraction of the need.
As Gaza residents helplessly watch headlines dominated by Israel-Iran developments, many are asking not for victory, but for peace. “We are maybe happy to see Israel suffer from Iranian rockets,” said Shaban Abed, a father of five in northern Gaza, “but one more day in this war costs the lives of tens of innocent people. We are being forgotten.” In a region bleeding from every direction, Gaza’s cries echo in silence.
