At least 140 Palestinians were killed in Gaza over the past 24 hours due to continued Israeli airstrikes and gunfire, according to local health officials, as the humanitarian crisis in the enclave deepens and global attention increasingly turns to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 40 people were killed on Wednesday alone in air and ground assaults, including civilians who had gathered to collect desperately needed aid. The latest wave of violence has affected areas across the Strip, including Gaza City, the Zeitoun neighborhood, the Maghazi refugee camp, and Khan Younis in the south.

Among the dead were 14 people who medics say were shot while waiting for aid convoys along the Salahuddin Road—one of the main humanitarian supply routes. Aid seekers have increasingly become targets, with nearly 400 Palestinians reported killed and over 3,000 injured in similar incidents since aid deliveries partially resumed in late May.

When asked about the Salahuddin Road shooting, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that troops had issued repeated warnings before firing, asserting that individuals approached soldiers in a way deemed threatening. The IDF stated it was not aware of any injuries from the incident and reiterated that its operations target Hamas infrastructure while seeking to minimize civilian harm.

‘We Are Being Forgotten’

The airstrikes come as media and diplomatic attention shifts toward Israel’s military exchange with Iran—leaving many in Gaza feeling abandoned in their hour of need.

“People are dying here every day, but the world is watching rockets fly between Israel and Iran instead,” said Adel, a Gaza City resident. “Even the sacks of flour people die trying to get are soaked in blood.”

The war in Gaza, which began in October 2023 after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, has resulted in nearly 55,600 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel’s military campaign in response has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population and triggered a worsening hunger crisis.

Humanitarian Efforts Under Strain

Aid is now being coordinated through the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israeli-backed initiative using private security and logistics firms to manage limited distributions. But critics argue the system is failing to meet basic needs.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), described the current approach as “a disgrace and a stain on our collective conscience.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) echoed that concern, calling for a dramatic scale-up of food aid. The WFP said it had delivered only 9,000 metric tons of food to Gaza in the last month—a fraction of what is needed—and warned that desperate crowds often intercept convoys out of sheer hunger.

“Starving people being injured or killed while seeking food is unacceptable,” the WFP said.

Calls for Broader Peace

Despite the growing toll, many Palestinians in Gaza say the emerging warfront between Israel and Iran is overshadowing their suffering.

Shaban Abed, a 47-year-old father of five from northern Gaza, voiced a sentiment shared by many: “Yes, some might feel vindicated seeing Israel come under fire, but every day this war continues, we lose more of our people. We just want peace—for our war to end too.”

As the crisis drags on, the question remains whether the world can refocus its attention on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza—before it’s too late.