Death Toll in Gaza Surpasses 63,000 as Israel Declares Gaza City a Combat Zone

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel has declared Gaza’s most populous city a combat zone, signaling an escalation in its nearly 23-month-long military campaign. The announcement came as the army confirmed the recovery of the remains of two hostages, while Gaza health officials reported the total death toll has now climbed to 63,025. Aid organizations are warning of worsening humanitarian conditions as hunger and displacement reach unprecedented levels.

Death Toll Continues to Rise Amid Worsening Crisis

Health authorities in Gaza stated that 59 people were killed in the past 24 hours, with five additional deaths directly linked to malnutrition, including several children. The rising fatalities underscore the deepening crisis facing civilians caught in the crossfire. At least 322 people, including 121 children, have died from hunger-related causes since the war began.

The health ministry, although run by Hamas, is managed by medical professionals and remains the most consistent point of reference for casualty figures. Its statistics are widely recognized by United Nations agencies and humanitarian monitors as credible, even as Israel disputes the accuracy of the numbers and refrains from releasing its own casualty estimates.

Explosions and plumes of smoke were observed from across the Israeli border Friday morning, signaling the start of renewed aerial and artillery bombardments targeting neighborhoods throughout Gaza City.

Israel Declares Gaza City Central to Military Offensive

Israeli leaders describe Gaza City as a strategic hub for Hamas operations, alleging that militants continue to operate underground tunnels and maintain weapons caches in and around the city. Officials argue that dismantling Hamas’ presence is essential to preventing further cross-border attacks, citing the group’s assault on October 7, 2023, which killed over 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the current war.

“The fight for Gaza City is essential to ensuring Hamas can no longer threaten our citizens,” an Israeli army spokesperson said Friday. “Operations will intensify until all hostages are returned and Hamas’ capacity to wage war is dismantled.”

This new declaration follows weeks of Israeli warnings that the operation was imminent. The resumption of heavy strikes marks a shift after so-called “tactical pauses” in recent weeks, when Israel temporarily reduced daytime combat operations to facilitate limited aid distribution.

Residents Refuse to Leave Despite Orders to Evacuate

Despite repeated evacuation orders, thousands of civilians remain in Gaza City, unable or unwilling to relocate. Many families who attempted to leave spoke of overwhelming uncertainty and fear of relocating to areas already overwhelmed with displaced populations.

“We can’t find anywhere in the west or south. The situation is impossible. Where do we go? We don’t know,” said resident Saddam Yazigi, preparing to leave with his family.

The United Nations estimates that more than 23,000 people fled Gaza City over the past week. Yet, with overcrowded shelters, aid shortages, and constant bombardments across the Strip, most displaced families face repeated cycles of flight, hunger, and insecurity.

At the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, around 440 civilians remain sheltering with clergy, refusing to evacuate despite the intensifying assault. Father Farid Jubran, a parish representative, said: “When people feel unsafe, they move closer to the church walls, but they cannot abandon their only place of refuge.”

Aid Organizations Face Unprecedented Strain

Humanitarian groups say they received no advance warning of Israel’s decision to relaunch major daytime operations in Gaza City. The Norwegian Refugee Council expressed frustration at the sudden escalation, warning that the lack of prior notice has left aid staff and civilians scrambling under renewed bombardment.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated that many aid efforts are collapsing under logistical strain. Hospitals in southern Gaza, where many displaced have sought safety, now face dangerous overcrowding. OCHA has warned that Israel’s new offensive risks eliminating half of all functional hospital beds in Gaza.

One health ministry spokesperson, Zaher al-Wahidi, stated bluntly: “We cannot deliver health care to 2 million people trapped in the south with collapsing facilities and relentless strikes overhead.”

Hunger Crisis Deepens, Risk of Famine Confirmed

The latest escalation comes just days after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the global food authority, confirmed famine conditions in parts of Gaza. Aid organizations have warned for months that restricted aid entry, looting, infrastructure destruction, and security barriers have left vast swaths of the population reliant on sporadic deliveries of flour, canned foods, and unsafe water supplies.

Children are the most affected. Malnutrition-related deaths among Gaza’s youngest have risen sharply. Families describe feeding children boiled weeds or diluted animal feed due to lack of food.

One displaced father, Mohammed Maarouf, sheltering west of Nuseirat refugee camp, said: “We are left in the streets like animals—worse than animals. Our children sleep hungry and wake up hungry.”

Echoes of Previous Gaza Conflicts

This is not the first time Gaza City has borne the brunt of a major military operation. During Israel’s 2014 offensive, intense bombardments left several northern neighborhoods uninhabitable for years. Nearly 2,200 Palestinians were killed in that seven-week war, while reconstruction lagged for more than half a decade.

The difference today is scale. Nearly 23 months of continuous bombardment and siege have displaced over 1.8 million people, according to U.N. figures—more than three-quarters of Gaza’s population. Entire blocks of Gaza City and Khan Younis have been reduced to rubble, raising regional comparisons to post-war Aleppo in Syria or Mosul in Iraq.

International Response and Regional Comparisons

The international community has repeatedly condemned the civilian toll of Israel’s operations, calling for greater efforts to deliver aid and protect noncombatants. U.N. officials have expressed outrage at the mounting death toll, while humanitarian experts have compared conditions in Gaza to some of the worst crises of the 21st century, including the famine in Yemen’s Saada province and the displacement witnessed during Sudan’s Darfur conflict.

Neighboring Egypt has voiced concern about the instability spreading across the border, while Jordan and Lebanon report growing social unrest fueled by public anger over the war. Meanwhile, Gulf nations have pledged additional financial aid, but restrictions at border crossings and ongoing military operations continue to slow distribution.

Outlook: No Clear Path to Ceasefire

Despite mounting humanitarian pressure, neither side shows signs of de-escalating. Israel has vowed to continue operations “until Hamas is eliminated as a military and governing force.” Hamas, holding dozens of hostages, has signaled it will not surrender while Israeli strikes continue.

For Gaza’s civilians, the declaration of Gaza City as a combat zone marks yet another chapter of violence in a war that has devastated daily life and obliterated infrastructure. Hospitals struggle to function without electricity, sewage runs openly in streets, and schools have been transformed into shelters where families survive in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

With the death toll surpassing 63,000 and thousands more wounded, the conflict has already become one of the deadliest for civilians in recent Middle Eastern history. The coming weeks in Gaza City are widely expected to bring even harsher conditions, with no reliable ceasefire in sight.

As night fell on Friday, the echoes of explosions reverberated across Gaza’s largest city, and families huddled in shattered buildings once again braced for a night of uncertainty—waiting, as they have for nearly two years, for an end that shows no signs of arriving.