Israeli strikes kill at least 31 in Gaza as UN agencies warn of fuel crisis
Deir Al-Balah, July 15: Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals, as UN agencies warned that critical fuel shortages put hospitals and other critical infrastructure at risk.
The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.
Twelve people were killed by strikes in southern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point on Monday, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which received the bodies. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children and two women, after a series of strikes in the north, according to the hospital’s director, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia.
Al-Awda Hospital reported seven killed and 11 wounded in strikes in central Gaza.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.
Separately, three Israeli soldiers were killed in northern Gaza, according to the military. A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said on Monday that they died in an explosion in their tank, apparently after it was hit by an anti-tank missile, though the incident was still being examined.
UN agencies, including those providing food and health care, reiterated a warning made at the weekend that without adequate fuel, they “will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely”.
In a joint statement, they said that hospitals are already going dark and ambulances can no longer move. Without fuel, transport, water production, sanitation and telecommunications will shut down and bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate, they said.
The agencies confirmed that some 1,50,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza last week — the first delivery in 130 days. But they said it is “a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running”.
“The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations,” they said.
The agencies signing the statement were the UN humanitarian office OCHA, food agency WFP, health organisation WHO, children’s agency UNICEF, the agency helping Palestinian refugees UNRWA, population agency UNFPA, development agency UNDP, and UNOPS which oversees procurement and provides management services.
Israel’s military said a June 19 strike killed Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, a senior Hamas militant who it said had taken part in the October 7, 2023, attack and held hostage Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, in his home at the start of the war.
There was no comment from Hamas and no independent confirmation.
Thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The militants are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.
Israel’s air and ground war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90 per cent of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
Israel’s Knesset meanwhile voted to expel a prominent Arab lawmaker, but the measure failed to pass the threshold of 90 votes in the 120-member assembly. Seventy-three members voted in favour.
The attempt to remove Ayman Odeh from parliament was related to a social media post in January in which he welcomed the release of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in a Gaza ceasefire.
The prisoners released in the agreement included scores of militants convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis, and rival lawmakers accused Odeh of supporting terror, allegations he denied. Many Palestinians view those imprisoned by Israel as freedom fighters jailed for resisting Israel’s decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for a future state.
Israel’s Arab minority, which makes up some 20 per cent of the population, has citizenship, including the right to vote, but faces widespread discrimination. Its members have close family ties to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and largely support their cause, leading many Jewish Israelis to view them with suspicion or contempt.
