Wed Jan 08 01:47:02 UTC 2025: ## Gaza Death Toll Mounts as Israeli Attacks Intensify on ‘Safe Zone’

**GAZA CITY, PALESTINE** – Israeli attacks on Gaza have intensified, resulting in a sharp increase in civilian casualties and widespread fear among the population. At least 49 Palestinians were killed in a single day, bringing the overall death toll since October 7, 2023, to nearly 46,000, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The attacks have targeted the al-Mawasi area, designated a “humanitarian safe zone” by the Israeli military, despite the presence of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians in makeshift camps there.

Al Jazeera reported that at least five children were among those killed in Israeli strikes on tents sheltering displaced people in al-Mawasi. The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis received eight children and five women, all victims of the attacks, with horrifying images emerging from the hospital’s morgue. The hospital also reported casualties from strikes on a car and residential houses.

The intensified attacks, described as “massacres” by the Gaza Ministry of Health, have left medical facilities struggling to cope. Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported a chaotic situation marked by fear and anticipation of further attacks. Fuel shortages, exacerbated by Israeli attacks on aid convoys and the hijacking of fuel tankers by Palestinian criminal gangs, are threatening the functionality of hospitals such as the European Hospital in Khan Younis and Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

The UN has expressed deep concern over the situation, with Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher stating that aid worker efforts are “at breaking point.” He cited incidents of Israeli forces attacking a food distribution point and a UN convoy, alongside the hijacking of fuel tankers by Palestinian gangs, highlighting a pattern of sabotage and deliberate disruption that jeopardizes humanitarian aid delivery. Fletcher also criticized statements by Israeli authorities that vilify aid workers even as they are attacked.

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