Israeli forces have killed at least 81 Palestinians in attacks across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medical sources have told Al Jazeera, as the IDF is preparing a major escalation of its genocidal war.
The Al Jazeera report said that among the dead were 30 people killed while seeking aid. In one attack, the medical sources said that 12 people were killed when the IDF targeted aid seekers and “cargo security personnel” near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its daily update, which it releases about midday Gaza time, that it recorded 56 violent deaths and 185 injuries over the previous 24-hour period. The ministry said that Gaza hospitals recorded another three starvation deaths as Palestinians continue to die of malnutrition-related causes due to the Israeli blockade.
The Israeli military called up 60,000 reservists on Wednesday as it is preparing to launch an offensive to take over Gaza City, plans that include the forced displacement of over one million Palestinian civilians. The IDF has already ramped up attacks on Gaza City, specifically the Zeitoun neighborhood, and thousands of people have fled.
An Israeli military spokesman said Wednesday that the IDF had begun its first steps to take over Gaza City. “We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City,” the spokesman said.
The Israeli military also said on Wednesday that it faced a “rare” large armed attack against its forces in southern Gaza, an attack that Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, took credit for. The IDF said that 18 armed Hamas fighters attacked its positions and that 10 of the attackers were killed while three Israeli soldiers were injured. The al-Qassam Brigades claimed that its fighters “eliminated several occupation soldiers,” but no Israeli deaths were confirmed.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its update that its death toll since October 7, 2023, has reached 62,122, and the number of wounded is 156,758. Studies have found that the ministry’s numbers are likely a significant undercount.