Israeli forces have ramped up their operations across Gaza this Wednesday. Residents are reporting heavy fighting in the southern city of Rafah. In Rafah, intense clashes erupted as Israeli tanks tried to push northward and medical sources confirmed that two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli missile strike earlier in the day.

In the northern town of Beit Lahiya, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a residential building, killing four Palestinians and injuring several others.

Since early May, the ground conflict has centered on Rafah, near the Egyptian border. This area has become a refuge for nearly half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents fleeing from other conflict zones. However, the ongoing hostilities have forced many to seek safety elsewhere.

The Israeli campaign has led to the deaths of 37,658 individuals, according to Gaza health officials, leaving the Gaza Strip in devastation.

But to make matters worse, in the northern Gaza Strip, residents are facing severe food shortages and rising prices. Health officials report thousands of children suffering from malnutrition, with at least 30 deaths since October 7.

More than 495,000 people across the Gaza Strip are facing the most severe, or “catastrophic”, level of food insecurity, according to an update from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Catastrophic food insecurity

Under “catastrophic” food insecurity, households suffer an extreme lack of food, leading to acute malnutrition in young children, and imminent risk of starvation, and death.

The IPC assessment published on Tuesday said that to buy food, more than half of Gazan households surveyed had to sell clothes and one-third gathered and sold rubbish. Over 20% reported going entire days and nights without eating. Overall, about 96% of the population faced high levels of acute food insecurity in the period until September.

Despite more than eight months of conflict, international mediation efforts, including those supported by the United States, Israel’s biggest economic supporter, have not been successful in establishing a ceasefire. Hamas is demanding an end to the conflict and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel insists on temporary pauses in fighting until, they say, Hamas is completely dismantled.

By Francesca Merlo | VaticanNews