The death toll in Gaza has continued to rise, with at least 139 Palestinians killed and 487 wounded in Israeli airstrikes over the past 24 hours, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
The ministry also reported that three more bodies were recovered from beneath rubble caused by earlier attacks.
The latest count includes 223 deaths newly confirmed by a judicial committee reviewing reports of missing persons.
Among those killed in the past day, 39 were aid seekers who arrived at hospitals, with over 210 others injured. The Health Ministry said the total number of aid seekers killed since the start of the conflict has now reached 640.
One of the deadliest strikes occurred in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis, where a tent was hit, killing 13 people — among them a couple and their four children.
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians, who, according to Gaza’s health ministry, were killed in an overnight Israeli strike on a tent, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip on July 3, 2025. —Reuters
Another attack struck the Mustafa Hafez School, which was sheltering displaced residents in western Gaza City, resulting in 11 fatalities.
A Palestinian girl looks at the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS
Read: At least 27 killed in Gaza City after fresh evacuation orders
An air strike near the Nabulsi Roundabout, also west of Gaza City, left at least six people dead and around 100 injured, many of whom were reportedly waiting for aid.
Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS
Palestinians inspect the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS
UNRWA calls for control of Gaza aid distribution
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has urged an independent investigation into the deaths and injuries of Palestinians attempting to access food via the current US- and Israeli-supported aid delivery system in Gaza.
Families in #Gaza are in desperate need.
When trying to retrieve the limited food that the Israeli authorities have permitted to enter, they have been shot at and crushed by trucks.
The UN calls for investigations into the killing and injury of Palestinians trying to access… pic.twitter.com/KzDDWB1Hih
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 3, 2025
In a statement posted on X, the agency accused Israeli forces of opening fire on civilians and of people being fatally crushed by aid trucks.
“Lift the siege now,” UNRWA said. “Aid delivery must be safe, dignified and accessible to all. Let the UN, including UNRWA, do the work.”
UN rights expert calls for global sanctions on Israel
UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has urged states to impose a full arms embargo and sever trade and financial ties with Israel, which she accused of carrying out “one of the cruellest genocides in modern history” in Gaza.
Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Albanese presented a report naming more than 60 companies allegedly involved in supporting Israeli settlements and military operations in Gaza.
“This is not just a list; it’s a system,” she said. “We must reverse the tide.” She called on countries to suspend trade agreements and hold corporations accountable for violations of international law.
Read more: At least 27 killed in Gaza City after fresh evacuation orders
UN expert accuses Israel of weapon-testing in Gaza amid 85,000-tonne explosive devastation
In a report presented to the UN Human Rights Council, Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, said arms manufacturers had made near-record profits by supplying Israel with cutting-edge technology used to unleash 85,000 tonnes of explosives — six times the power of the Hiroshima bomb — on the Gaza Strip.
Albanese said the destruction in Gaza had coincided with gains on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since October 2023. “One people enriched, one people erased,” she told the council.
She alleged that the conflict had turned Palestine into a live-testing zone for “new weapons, customised surveillance, lethal drones and radar systems,” calling Gaza “an ideal laboratory for the Israeli military-industrial complex.”
The report named 48 companies — including arms manufacturers, banks, tech firms, energy conglomerates and academic institutions — allegedly tied to what Albanese described as an “economy of occupation.”
“From data systems that surveil Palestinians to fossil fuels that power illegal settlements, corporate complicity runs deep,” she said.
Citing international law, Albanese said even indirect ties to these systems carry legal responsibility. She urged states to impose a full arms embargo on Israel, suspend all trade and investment agreements, and ensure companies involved face legal consequences.
“Member states must act. The time for bold steps is now,” she said.
Israel’s government did not attend the session and has previously dismissed Albanese’s findings as “legally unfounded” and an abuse of her UN mandate.
Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli minister’s call for sovereignty over occupied West Bank
Saudi Arabia has strongly criticised recent statements by Israeli ministers advocating full sovereignty over the occupied West Bank, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom said it “condemns and denounces” the remarks made by Israeli officials, reaffirming its stance against any moves to assert Israeli control over Palestinian territories.
Hamas reviews 60-day Gaza ceasefire proposal
Hamas said on Wednesday it was studying what US President Donald Trump called a “final” ceasefire proposal for Gaza but that Israel must pull out of the enclave, and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be eliminated.
Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas after a meeting between his representatives and Israeli officials.
In a statement, the Palestinian group said it was studying new ceasefire offers received from mediators Egypt and Qatar but that it aimed to reach an agreement that would ensure an end to the war and an Israeli pullout from Gaza.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Trump’s announcement.
“There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a ‘Hamastan’. We’re not going back to that. It’s over,” Netanyahu told a meeting hosted by the Trans-Israel pipeline.
The two sides’ statements reiterated long-held positions, giving no clues as to whether or how a compromise agreement could be reached.
Israel’s war on Gaza
The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 57,012 Palestinians, including 134,592 children. More than 111,588 people have been injured, and over 14,222 are missing and presumed dead.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
