Israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 Palestinians on Saturday as officials reported rising starvation deaths and mounting attacks on civilians near aid centers across Gaza.

At least 21 Palestinians were killed and several others injured on Saturday in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. 

Meanwhile, the death toll of children who have died from hunger and malnutrition has reached 66, as Israel’s blockade, closure of border crossings, and restrictions on aid continue.

According to Al-Jazeera, Israeli forces carried out artillery and aerial bombardments, along with gunfire from helicopters, targeting central and eastern Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Six members of the Abu Ta’amiya family were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a tent sheltering displaced persons in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis.

Another Palestinian was killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike on the Al-Arja tent in the same area, while six additional people were injured in a separate attack on a nearby tent.

Nasser Medical Complex confirmed that one Palestinian was killed and others wounded after Israeli forces opened fire near an aid center north of Rafah, also in the southern part of the Strip.

Central and Northern Gaza

In the central Gaza Strip, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a civilian gathering east of Deir Al-Balah.

Israeli gunfire at a distribution center near the Netzarim junction injured ten Palestinians waiting for food aid.

In northern Gaza, an Israeli strike on the Adnan Al-Alami School, which was housing displaced families northwest of Gaza City, killed two Palestinians, including a child, and wounded 12 others.

Al-Shifa Hospital reported that three people were killed in a separate Israeli attack on the Al-Saftawi area, north of Gaza City.

Four more Palestinians, including two children, were killed in an airstrike that hit a home in Jabaliya Al-Balad.

On Friday evening, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders to residents of several neighborhoods in central Gaza as it continued its 21st month of war, which has included widespread bombardment and mass displacement operations.

Hunger Crisis Deepens

The director of field hospitals at the Gaza Ministry of Health told Al-Jazeera that 66 children have now died of starvation. He warned that the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, and that the Nasser Medical Complex has been declared a red zone due to ongoing Israeli attacks.

The Government Media Office in Gaza renewed its call for urgent international intervention to pressure Israel to reopen border crossings and allow humanitarian aid to enter.

UNRWA said the health system in Gaza is nearing collapse, citing extensive damage to medical facilities, the lack of safe access for humanitarian workers, and the continued blockade on fuel and medical supplies.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported ongoing atrocities at food distribution points operating under the Israeli-American aid initiative, calling the current mechanism dehumanizing and unsustainable.

MSF urged a return to a humanitarian aid system coordinated by the United Nations and governed by international standards.

Since May 27, Tel Aviv and Washington have jointly implemented a controversial aid distribution plan that bypasses UN oversight. Palestinian officials say the Israeli army has repeatedly opened fire on civilians waiting in line for aid, leaving them with a horrific choice: starve or risk being shot.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least 549 Palestinians have been killed and over 4,066 wounded while attempting to access food from these aid centers since the program began.