Gaza health officials urge border reopening as fresh strikes claim lives

Fresh Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed and injured multiple people, as health authorities issued an urgent appeal for border crossings to be unblocked to let thousands of critically sick and wounded residents leave for medical care abroad.

According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, six Palestinians were killed and 38 injured over a 24-hour period ending Thursday. The casualties follow a sequence of drone and artillery strikes targeting locations in northern, central, and southern sectors of the enclave.

In central Gaza, an Israeli drone launched two missiles at a civilian automobile inside the Maghazi refugee camp, killing two people and wounding several others, Al Jazeera reported. The injured were transported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where at least one person remained in critical condition following emergency surgery.

Further north, artillery fire and drone attacks struck areas near Jabalia and eastern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, including Shujayea, Tuffah, and Zeitoun. In northern Gaza's Halawa displacement camp, Israeli forces positioned near the perimeter fired toward tents housing displaced families. Emergency personnel also reported that 11 people, among them women and children, sustained injuries when an artillery shell hit a residential building east of Gaza City.

In southern Gaza, four Ministry of Economy employees tasked with supervising incoming aid shipments were buried in Khan Younis after being killed in an earlier drone strike in the al-Mawasi district near Rafah. The attack on the crowded coastal tent camp, which had previously been designated as a safe area, also left more than 30 people injured. Concurrently, Israeli ground units have been executing widespread demolitions of remaining buildings and infrastructure behind security perimeters near Beit Lahiya, Deir el-Balah, and Khan Younis.

Amid the continuing military activity, the Health Ministry reiterated its demand for the reopening of the Rafah border terminal with Egypt. The ministry reported that 21,468 injured and chronically ill Palestinians are currently awaiting medical transfers abroad, with 6,430 classified as urgent priority cases.

Officials stated that sustained border restrictions and prolonged evacuation procedures have caused dozens of patients to die while awaiting clearance to exit the territory. Since February, only 3,056 medical evacuations have taken place, including 2,614 through Rafah and 442 through the Karem Abu Salem crossing, leaving the majority of patients without access to necessary specialized treatment.