Israeli fire kills 140 in Gaza, as attention shifts to Iran

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 30 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to local health officials, as many in Gaza expressed frustration that their suffering is being overshadowed by the escalating confrontation between Israel and Iran.

At least 140 Palestinians were killed across Gaza in the past 24 hours due to Israeli gunfire and airstrikes, local health officials reported, as residents expressed fears that the ongoing devastation in the strip is being overshadowed by growing tensions between Israel and Iran.

Gaza’s health ministry confirmed that at least 40 of the deaths occurred on Wednesday alone, including Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid. These casualties are part of a disturbing trend of daily killings since Israel partially eased its blockade of the enclave three weeks ago.

Medical sources reported that Israeli airstrikes on homes in central and northern Gaza—including the Maghazi refugee camp, Gaza City, and the Zeitoun neighborhood—killed at least 21 people. An additional five people died in a strike on an encampment in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

Fourteen more civilians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid trucks along the Salahuddin Road in central Gaza, medics said.

When asked about the Salahuddin Road incident, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that individuals approached Israeli troops in the Nuseirat area “in a threatening manner,” despite repeated warnings that it was an active combat zone. The IDF said troops fired warning shots and claimed it had no knowledge of injuries. Regarding the other strikes, the IDF reiterated that it was targeting Hamas military infrastructure while attempting to minimize civilian harm.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, since the resumption of aid deliveries in late May, 397 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,000 wounded while trying to access food aid.

Amid the spiraling crisis, many in Gaza fear the world is turning its attention away. The recent five-day conflict between Israel and Iran has dominated global headlines, pushing Gaza's ongoing tragedy further into the background.

“People are being slaughtered in Gaza day and night, but all eyes are on the Iran-Israel war now. There’s hardly any news about us anymore,” said Adel, a resident of Gaza City. “Those who don’t die from bombs die from hunger. People risk their lives for food, only to be killed with sacks of flour soaked in their blood.”

‘Forgotten and Abandoned’

Israel is now funneling humanitarian aid through the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—a U.S.- and Israeli-supported entity using private American logistics firms. Aid is distributed through limited sites secured by Israeli forces. Israel insists it is ensuring aid reaches civilians, not Hamas, which it accuses of diverting supplies—an allegation Hamas denies, accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), described the current aid system as “a disgrace & a stain on our collective consciousness” in a statement posted to X on Wednesday.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants launched a deadly cross-border attack on Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli sources.

Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed nearly 55,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population of over two million, and triggered a catastrophic hunger crisis. Israel faces allegations of genocide and war crimes, which it strongly denies.

As Israeli cities brace for possible Iranian retaliation, many in Gaza continue to track the broader conflict closely.

“We may feel some satisfaction seeing Israel targeted by Iranian rockets,” said 47-year-old Shaban Abed, a father of five in northern Gaza. “But every extra day of war means dozens more lives lost here. We just want peace—some kind of comprehensive solution. We are being forgotten.”