Gaza’s health authority, in a statement, reported that “among the dead are one child and seven adults,” confirming that “the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition has risen to 188 martyrs, including 94 children.” On Monday, Gaza’s civil defense announced that operations were ongoing across all governorates of the sector due to insufficient fuel supplies and lack of necessary maintenance parts for repairs. The civil defense in Gaza stated, “We managed to secure a small amount of fuel from some humanitarian and relief organizations, which covers no more than 15% of the daily professional needs.” The statement emphasized that “the civil defense is now merging responses for some daily tasks that do not pose a direct threat to citizens’ lives and postponing some missions, placing us on the brink of a major humanitarian disaster.” Earlier, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Gaza despite disagreements with the military. According to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, “U.S. President Donald Trump gave Netanyahu the green light to launch an intensive military operation against Hamas,” noting that there was a partial deal that was one step away but was quickly abandoned by Israel. Since October 7, 2023, Gaza has been experiencing the most intense war in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after Israel launched a broad military campaign in response to a surprise attack by the Palestinian Hamas movement on southern Israel. The war has caused massive destruction in the besieged sector and resulted in tens of thousands of casualties, most of whom are civilians, amidst a near-total collapse of health and humanitarian infrastructure. With the ongoing blockade and road closures, delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza’s residents has become a “daunting task,” especially in the northern and central areas of the sector. International and Arab efforts have intensified, including air drops of aid, in an attempt to mitigate the worsening humanitarian disaster in the sector, amidst warnings of an imminent famine and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
