On the 654th day of Israel’s ongoing aggression on Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe continues to escalate, marked by relentless airstrikes, mass civilian casualties, and a deepening famine. Despite international pleas and legal rulings, the conflict shows no signs of abating, with mounting evidence of what many are calling a genocidal war, heavily backed by the United States and met with global inaction.
Overnight, Israeli occupation forces launched dozens of airstrikes across the besieged enclave, killing at least 20 Palestinians and injuring many more, according to local medical sources. Targets included residential buildings, aid distribution points, and tents sheltering displaced families, exacerbating an already dire situation for over two million civilians enduring extreme hunger and homelessness.
Earlier today, an Israeli airstrike hit the roof of a residential building in the Al-Remal neighborhood of Gaza City, killing at least three Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/GGVdiU1THa
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 21, 2025
Among the latest casualties were members of the al-Raqab family—Ayman, his wife Israa, their children Abdullah and Nour, and cousin Mahmoud—killed in an early morning airstrike on tents in Khan Yunis. Other fatalities were reported in Gaza City, Jabalia, and Deir al-Balah, where homes, streets, and aid lines were attacked by air and drone strikes.
Israeli incursions continue in central Gaza, particularly in the Hakr al-Jami’ area of Deir al-Balah, accompanied by heavy shelling and mass evacuations. The airstrikes have also turned aid zones into “death traps,” as seen in the al-Sudaniya area, where at least 81 people were killed while waiting for food and water—raising the day’s toll to 132, including 94 people seeking humanitarian assistance.
Israeli army tanks are firing indiscriminately in the Al-Baraka area, south of Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, causing panic among Palestinian civilians. pic.twitter.com/Ds9dbU8pPX
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 21, 2025
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the war has now killed over 58,895 people, wounded more than 140,980, and left over 11,000 missing. Since May 27, when Israeli forces began targeting aid centers operated under the controversial “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation”—rejected by the UN—nearly 1,000 have died at these sites, and over 6,000 have been wounded.
The Israeli war has decimated Gaza’s infrastructure: 88% of buildings lie in ruins, more than 14,000 families have been erased from civil records, and $62 billion in damage has been recorded. Over 149 schools and universities have been destroyed, 828 mosques damaged, and even cemeteries have not been spared.
Medical facilities have collapsed. Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of the now-defunct Al-Shifa Hospital, described a healthcare system operating in “inhumane, catastrophic conditions.” With no fuel, food, or medicine, hospitals have ceased functioning, and patients are dying from treatable conditions.
Famine is now one of Gaza’s deadliest threats. Nineteen people martyred of starvation in the past 24 hours alone, including four-year-old Razan Abu Zaher—one of 76 children confirmed dead from malnutrition. The UN and aid agencies warn that starvation is being weaponized, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stating plainly: “Starvation of civilians is a war crime.”
UNRWA has reported desperate messages from its staff inside Gaza and has reiterated urgent calls to lift the blockade and allow unimpeded humanitarian aid. Yet the siege continues, even as the International Court of Justice orders a halt to the campaign and investigations mount into potential war crimes.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA):
⭕ We are receiving desperate messages of starvation from Gaza, including from our colleagues.
⭕ Food prices have increased 40 fold.
⭕ Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has… pic.twitter.com/QyRAfdTHe5
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 21, 2025
Since October 7, 2023, Gaza has been subjected to an unrelenting war of killing, displacement, and hunger. Nearly 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded, 9,000 are missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced. The crisis continues unabated—with American support, global paralysis, and a growing consensus among humanitarian observers that this is not just a conflict, but a systematic act of extermination.
Source: Al-Manar English Website and Agencies
