Israeli strike kills family of 10 in Gaza as UN raises alarm over food
cutoff
[April 17, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA, FATMA KHALED and LEE KEATH
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip
overnight into Thursday killed at least 23 people, including a family of
10, local health officials said. The United Nations meanwhile raised
alarm over the mounting impact of Israel’s six-week-old blockade
preventing all food and other supplies from entering the territory.
Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last month and renewed its
bombardment, killing hundreds of people and seizing large parts of the
territory to pressure the militants to accept changes to the agreement.
A strike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed five children, four
women and a man from the same family, all of whom suffered severe burns,
according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Strikes in
northern Gaza killed 13 people, including nine children, according to
the Indonesian Hospital.
The Israeli military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames
their deaths on Hamas because it operates in residential areas. There
was no immediate comment on the latest strikes.
The U.N. humanitarian office, known as OCHA, said that almost all of
Gaza’s more than 2 million people now rely for food on the only 1
million prepared meals produced daily by charity kitchens supported by
aid groups.
Other food distribution programs have shut down for lack of supplies,
and the U.N. and other aid groups have been sending their remaining
stocks to the charity kitchens.
The only other way to get food in Gaza is from markets. But most cannot
afford to buy there because of spiraling prices and widespread
shortages, meaning humanitarian aid is the primary food source for 80%
of the population, the World Food Program said in its monthly report for
April on Gaza’s markets.
“The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in
the 18 months since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023,” OCHA
said.
Most people in Gaza are now down to one meal a day, said Shaina Low, a
spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council. “It’s far lower than
what is needed,” she said.
Water is also growing scarce, with Palestinians standing in long lines
to fill jerry cans from trucks. Omar Shatat, an official with a local
water utility, said people are down to six or seven liters per day, well
below the amount the U.N. estimates is needed to meet basic needs.
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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that preventing
humanitarian aid is one of the “central pressure tactics” used
against Hamas, which Israel accuses of siphoning off aid to maintain
its rule.
Israel is demanding that Hamas release more hostages at the start of
any new ceasefire and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the
territory. Katz said that even afterward Israel will continue to
occupy large “security zones” inside Gaza.
Hamas is currently holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to
be alive. It says it will only return them in exchange for the
release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal
from Gaza and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct
ceasefire agreement reached earlier this year.
Hani Almadhoun, co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, said his kitchen
has food for about three more weeks.
“But food is loosely defined. We have pasta and rice but nothing
much beyond that. No fresh produce. There is no chicken or beef. The
only thing we have is canned meat,” he said. He said 15-20% of the
people who come to his kitchen for food leave empty-handed.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on
Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and
abducting 251. Most of the hostages have since been released in
ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel has rescued eight and
recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel's offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women
and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not
say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says
it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food
production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90% of the
population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent
camps and bombed-out buildings.
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Khaled and Keath reported from Cairo.
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