Gaza, July 3, 2025: At least 139 Palestinians were killed and 487 injured in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, marking one of the deadliest days in the ongoing conflict.
The ministry added that three additional bodies were recovered from under the rubble of previous attacks, while 223 new fatalities were confirmed by a judicial committee reviewing reports of missing persons.
Among the victims, 39 were individuals seeking humanitarian aid, while over 210 of the injured were also aid seekers, the ministry said. The total number of aid seekers killed since the conflict began has now reached 640.
One of the most devastating strikes occurred in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, where a tent was hit, killing 13 people, including a couple and their four children. Another airstrike targeted the Mustafa Hafez School in western Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced civilians. Eleven people were killed in that attack.
Separately, a strike near Nabulsi Roundabout west of Gaza City killed at least six and injured around 100 others, many of whom were reportedly waiting for aid.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has called for an independent investigation into the deaths and injuries of Palestinians attempting to access food through the current U.S.- and Israeli-backed aid distribution mechanism.
In a statement posted on X, UNRWA accused Israeli forces of opening fire on civilians and reported incidents of people being fatally crushed by aid trucks. “Lift the siege now,” the agency said. “Aid delivery must be safe, dignified and accessible to all.”
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese also urged member states to impose a full arms embargo on Israel and to cut trade and financial ties, accusing Tel Aviv of committing “one of the cruellest genocides in modern history.”
Presenting a report to the UN Human Rights Council, Albanese named more than 60 companies allegedly complicit in Israel’s military operations and settlement expansion — including arms manufacturers, banks, tech firms, and energy conglomerates.
“From customised surveillance to lethal drones, Gaza has become a live-testing zone for new weapons,” she said, accusing Israel of turning the war into an “economy of occupation.”
Albanese also pointed to rising profits on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since October 2023, claiming a direct link between the destruction in Gaza and financial gain.
“One people enriched, one people erased,” she remarked, urging bold international steps to end corporate and state complicity.
Israel did not attend the UN session and has previously dismissed Albanese’s reports as “legally unfounded” and an abuse of her mandate.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has condemned recent statements by Israeli ministers advocating full sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
In a statement carried by Asharq Al-Awsat, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly condemns and denounces” such remarks, reaffirming the Kingdom’s rejection of any move to legitimize Israeli control over Palestinian territories.
