70 Palestinians martyred as Israeli occupation continues massacres in Gaza, warnings of famine

Seventy Palestinians, including children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since Wednesday morning, including a massacre targeting a funeral tent in Beit Lahia. This comes amid warnings of a famine threatening the people of Gaza.

The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip announced that "70 Palestinians, including a number of children, have been killed in Gaza since Wednesday morning as a result of scattered Israeli airstrikes targeting homes, tents, and other locations."

This brings the total number of martyrs since Israel resumed its genocide in Gaza at dawn on Tuesday to more than 470, according to Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal, who noted that "a UN employee was also killed in Israeli shelling."

"You left me, my soul, you went upstairs with Mama." Painful words from a father to his infant son who was martyred with his mother in the occupation's bombing of Khan Yunis. pic.twitter.com/z2iYolrfhY

— Quds News Network (@qudsn) March 19, 2025

He added on Telegram, "There are still people trapped under the rubble of homes, and it is difficult for crews to extract them due to the lack of heavy equipment needed for rescue and recovery operations."

He continued, warning: "The closure of the Gaza Strip's crossings and the failure to allow fuel into the Strip threaten the work of our crews and service providers in the Strip, and there is a possibility of service being disrupted if the crossings remain closed."

Beit Lahia funeral massacre

The Israeli occupation committed a horrific massacre by raiding a funeral home in the Al-Sultan neighborhood of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, killing at least 17 Palestinians and wounding 32 others.

The massacre coincided with the breaking of the fast (iftar) for Palestinians who were at a funeral for a martyr. The targeting was direct and sudden, targeting the elderly and young children, according to what Al Jazeera reported, citing its correspondents and eyewitnesses.

Videos documented horrific images from the targeted site, showing residents and ambulance crews using primitive methods to retrieve the bodies of the martyrs and the injured and transport them to the Indonesian hospital.

Urgent | A horrific massacre in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, where the occupation targeted a funeral house in the Al-Sultan neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of more than 14 martyrs and the injury of 30 others. pic.twitter.com/BnpovIbYSM

— Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) March 19, 2025

famine warnings

Meanwhile, warnings have been issued of a famine in the Gaza Strip due to the continued closure of all crossings by the Israeli occupation, preventing the entry of any essential goods for 18 days.

"We are on the verge of a famine threatening the residents of the Gaza Strip, after the closure of the Strip's crossings for the eighteenth consecutive day and the depletion of basic supplies in the markets," said Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal.

The government media office in Gaza announced on Wednesday that the Strip had entered "the first stages of famine" due to the ongoing Israeli blockade and the closure of crossings to the entry of aid and goods since March 2.

The World Food Programme said on Friday that it has been unable to transport any food supplies to the Gaza Strip since March 2 due to Israel's closure of the crossings.

On the 19th of Ramadan, a mother bids farewell to her daughter, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house west of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/5Z71jFbTp7

— Quds News Network (@qudsn) March 19, 2025

On Tuesday, Israel launched attacks that constituted the largest violation of the fragile ceasefire agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States last January. The attacks targeted inhabited homes, shelters, and tents housing displaced people, causing widespread destruction and unprecedented human suffering.

In early March 2025, the first 42-day phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, which began on January 19, concluded.

Benjamin Netanyahu's government is refusing to initiate the second phase of the agreement, seeking to release more Israeli prisoners without fulfilling the commitments of this phase, particularly ending the war of extermination and fully withdrawing from Gaza.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 162,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 14,000 missing.

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Anadolu Agency + Al Jazeera