# Gaza death toll climbs as Israeli strikes intensify over Gaza City
Israeli strikes and shootings across Gaza killed at least 105 Palestinians on Tuesday, according to the supplied Al Jazeera report, as Israel pressed ahead with plans to seize Gaza City and tightened pressure on a population already weakened by hunger and displacement.
The report said more than 50 of the dead were killed in and around Gaza City, where al-Sabra and other densely populated neighborhoods have been under attack for days. It also said at least 32 people were killed while seeking aid. That figure points to a war in which the line between frontline combat and the struggle for basic survival has become increasingly blurred.
A particularly deadly incident took place in the al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, where an Israeli drone strike hit people waiting for water. The report said at least 21 people were killed there, including seven children. Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said the victims were lined up to fill water containers when they were struck. Israel had previously described the area as a safe zone, making the attack politically and legally sensitive.
The death toll also included 10 people from the al-Af family home in Gaza City, according to Gaza officials. Among the dead were two journalists, Rasmi Salem of al-Manara and Eman al-Zamli, bringing the number of journalists killed since October 7, 2023, to more than 270, according to media watchdogs cited in the report. The war in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for media workers ever recorded.
The humanitarian crisis worsened further. The report said at least 13 people died of starvation in the previous 24 hours, lifting the hunger-related death toll since the war began to 361, with 83 of those deaths recorded after a global hunger monitor confirmed famine conditions on August 22. Whether all of those deaths are directly attributable to the fighting or to the siege conditions around Gaza, the cumulative picture is one of deepening collapse.
The political track remained stalled. Qatar said Hamas had accepted a ceasefire proposal, while Israel had not responded. Thousands of Israeli reservists reported for duty as ground operations were expected to deepen. Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said the military would “deepen our operation,” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the period as a decisive stage of the war.
The report also noted that Israel had tightened its siege of Gaza City, limiting aid deliveries, while Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed drone and missile attacks on targets in Israel and a cargo ship in the Red Sea. In this account, the immediate story is the human toll, but the larger one is strategic: an urban assault aimed at seizure, a civilian population under pressure from both airstrikes and hunger, and no clear diplomatic off-ramp in sight.
