TEHRAN – More than 700 days into Israel’s war on Gaza, Palestinian civilians continue to bear the brunt of relentless airstrikes, siege, and starvation. 

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Saturday that over 80 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the past 24 hours as Israeli bombardment ravaged the besieged enclave.

Among the dead were nearly 20 Palestinians who had been attempting to collect desperately needed aid, bringing the total number killed while seeking humanitarian relief to more than 2,350.

The ministry also confirmed that six people, including a child, died of hunger on Saturday alone. This raised the death toll from Israel’s famine-induced starvation policy in Gaza to 382 since the war began. Overall, Israel’s assault has killed 64,231 Palestinians and wounded 161,583 since October 7, 2023.

At the same time, Israel is intensifying its push to seize Gaza City. On Saturday, Israeli forces struck two residential towers in the western part of the city. The Israeli military claimed the buildings were used by Hamas for intelligence gathering and planting explosive devices. However, it offered no evidence.

Gaza’s Government Media Office firmly rejected those allegations, calling them “systematic deception” aimed at justifying attacks on civilians and infrastructure. “We affirm unequivocally, based on the testimony of residents, that these towers were civilian-only spaces,” the office said, labeling the strikes as acts of forced displacement in violation of international law.

The destruction of residential buildings is seen as part of Israel’s broader strategy to pressure Palestinians to leave Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fueled concerns on Friday by claiming there were “different plans for how to rebuild Gaza” and suggesting that “half of the population wants to leave,” though he insisted this was “not a mass expulsion.”

Nearly two years into the war, Israel has failed to achieve its stated goal of defeating Hamas. Instead, critics say its military campaign has shifted toward targeting civilians and displacing the population, while Palestinian resistance remains unbroken.