Israel’s 'Safe Zones' Turn into Killing Fields As Gaza Death Toll Climbs
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 91 Palestinians were killed on Saturday in relentless Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, including 45 in Gaza City, as the occupying military escalated its widely denounced ground invasion.
Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned Israel for deceiving civilians by designating central and southern areas as “safe humanitarian zones” while continuing to bombard those very regions.
The office reported that since Israel forced people out of Gaza City on August 11, 1,903 Palestinians have been killed in 133 attacks on the central and southern governorates—accounting for 46 percent of all reported deaths in that period.
“This proves civilians are being deliberately targeted after being ordered to move south,” the statement said, warning that global silence amounts to a “green light” for more massacres.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from central Gaza, said Israeli attacks intensified from early Saturday. “Just in the past few minutes, we had confirmation of a family evacuating on a road inside a vehicle when it was struck by a drone missile. Four people were reported killed on the spot,” he said.
“Hundreds of others have been on the move as Israeli drones and fighter jets chase them from one place to another,” he added.
Hospitals in Gaza City are shutting down under direct Israeli fire. On Saturday, the Jordan Field Hospital was forced to evacuate all 107 patients and its staff amid heavy bombardment.
Medical facilities across Gaza face catastrophic shortages. Doctors, themselves starving, treat patients without basic supplies such as anaesthesia or antibiotics. In southern Gaza, overcrowded hospitals attempt to place two patients in a single bed as waves of wounded arrive from the north.
Dr. Khalil Digran of Al-Aqsa Hospital said Israeli forces deliberately struck al-Rantisi Paediatric Hospital, the enclave’s only specialized facility for children. “Gaza City and the north are left with just two health facilities that are barely functioning: al-Shifa and al-Ahli Hospital,” he told Al Jazeera.
“With the pressure Israel is putting on central and southern Gaza, remaining hospitals are on the verge of total collapse,” Digran warned.
Mohammad Khoudary, a displaced Palestinian, described how his father’s health deteriorated after being uprooted. “Ever since we became displaced, my father has been impacted and has become very sad. This has affected his health; he has become dehydrated. I am hoping they will be able to transfer him to Al-Aqsa Hospital,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hamas said it has not received US President Donald Trump’s reported Gaza ceasefire plan, despite Trump repeatedly claiming a deal is close.
“It’s looking like we have a deal on Gaza,” Trump told reporters Friday, without giving details or a timeline.
Israel has not publicly responded. A Hamas official, speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said the resistance group “has not been presented with any plan.”
Trump is scheduled to meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
