Israeli forces kill 23 Palestinians with Gaza food supplies 'fully depleted'

Israeli forces killed at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza since dawn on Monday as attacks intensified around the enclave, medical sources said.

At the same time, the UN confirmed that food supplies have officially "fully depleted" due to the ongoing Israeli blockade.

Seven of the Palestinians killed were targeted in the northwest of Gaza City, while ten others were killed north of Gaza City.

At least four bodies were retrieved from the rubble of a home targeted on Sunday evening, reports stated.

Gaza’s government media office said that over 65 percent of the people killed by Israel since the start of the war are women, children and the elderly. The figure includes more than 18,000 children.

At least 1,400 doctors and healthcare workers and 113 members of the civil defence have also been killed, the statement added.

Food supplies depleted 

The UN announced that food supplies in Gaza have now run out, with the lack of food and nutrients available exposing children to long-term damage to their health.

Around 3,700 children were identified as suffering from acute malnutrition in March, marking an 80 percent increase from February, the UN said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) also reiterated that stocks in Gaza have been fully depleted, with all of their bakeries now shuttered, affecting over 800,000 people they were serving regularly.

Basic and essential food items have been increasingly difficult to find, local media said, with eggs, meat, dairy and other items mostly unavailable.

Meanwhile, over 116,000 metric tonnes of food set to last up to four months have been held outside Gaza, with Israel not allowing it in.

Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani reaffirmed on Monday that they are continuing their efforts to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza and are monitoring the humanitarian situation.

ICJ hearing 

The latest developments come as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to begin a five-day hearing on Israel’s blockade on aid.

Israel will be facing accusations of violating international law by refusing to let aid in, with dozens of nations presenting arguments at the hearings in The Hague.

Countries including the UK, Germany and France have all urged Israel to abide by international laws by allowing aid into the enclave.

While advisory opinions of the ICJ carry legal and political weight, they are not binding, and the court does not have enforcement powers.

In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces continued cracking down on civilians, severely beating an elderly man in the Tulkarem refugee camp after setting his home on fire, the Wafa news agency reported.

Israeli forces also raided Tubas and Nablus, as well as the town of Beitunia, with soldiers storming the Fawwar refugee camp located near Hebron.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza government media office. The war has levelled entire neighbourhoods and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis.