Gaza: At least 26 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday, the eve of Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s most significant religious holidays, according to the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR).
The information was provided by OHCHR monitors in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), who expressed concern over an increase in Israeli military attacks as Palestinian families prepared to observe the holiday.
According to the rights office, 12 Palestinians were killed in three separate airstrikes on May 26. Initial reports also indicated that a teenage girl died from injuries sustained in an earlier strike that had killed a woman and a young girl.
One of the airstrikes reportedly killed four men at a camp in central Gaza after they resisted attempts by armed groups, allegedly supported by the Israeli military, to search their homes. In a separate incident, two men were killed when an airstrike targeted a vehicle in Khan Younis.
Another strike on an apartment in Gaza City reportedly killed a newly appointed commander of Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades, along with his wife, three children and a woman who was passing by the area.
The UN rights office further reported that 10 individuals allegedly affiliated with the Al Qassam Brigades were killed in a separate strike on May 27.
According to OHCHR, Israeli military operations have killed 922 Palestinians since the announcement of a ceasefire in October. Local authorities estimate that the overall death toll in Gaza since the conflict escalated in October 2023 has reached nearly 73,000. Palestinian health officials and human rights activists have stated that the actual number of deaths may be higher.
The office also reported that at least 32 children and eight women have been killed in attacks since the ceasefire announcement.
Beyond the casualties, OHCHR said Palestinians in Gaza continue to face severe shortages of shelter, essential medicines, food and other basic necessities amid the ongoing blockade.
Nearly the entire population remains displaced and concentrated within an increasingly restricted area of land, the office said, noting that several new displacement orders have been issued in recent days.
The rights investigators also commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Thursday directing Israeli forces to expand their deployment to cover approximately 70 per cent of Gaza’s territory.
According to OHCHR, the continued reduction of areas available to civilians raises serious concerns regarding access to humanitarian assistance and the ability of residents to find safety.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said concerns about potential war crimes in Gaza remain unresolved.
“It is difficult enough to navigate life in chronic displacement in the ruins of Gaza, under blockade, and after Israeli attacks virtually destroyed every essential system — healthcare, education, food production, law enforcement and civil order,” Sunghay said.
“Continuing military attacks on a population living under these conditions is unthinkable,” he added.