At least 17 Palestinians have been martyred and dozens more wounded in a new wave of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, as the occupation forces continue to flout the ceasefire agreement through persistent shelling, gunfire, and targeted attacks on civilians.
In the latest escalation, Israeli warplanes struck a municipal police station in the heart of Gaza City, causing multiple casualties among Palestinian personnel. Medical sources confirmed that the death toll from the attack is expected to rise as rescue teams continue to recover bodies from the rubble.
Among the victims was child Ahmed Ramzi Aqel, who succumbed to wounds sustained when occupation forces opened fire on a camp housing displaced families in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip. His death underscores the escalating toll on vulnerable populations, including children and internally displaced persons, who have been repeatedly caught in the crossfire despite the declared truce.
US ‘Green Light’ for Targeted Killings
Israeli media outlets, citing security sources, have reported that the occupation army’s assassination policy in Gaza operates with explicit American approval. According to the reports, the United States has granted Israel a “green light” to continue eliminating individuals it designates as “threats,” effectively shielding the military from international accountability.
An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the occupation does not believe Hamas will relinquish its weapons. He further asserted that the army will continue its operations to “thwart threats,” will not withdraw from the so-called “yellow line” buffer zone, and will not initiate any reconstruction efforts in the devastated enclave signaling an indefinite extension of the military campaign despite mounting civilian casualties.
UN Warns of Unprecedented Humanitarian Collapse
On the humanitarian front, the United Nations has issued a stark warning over the rapidly deteriorating conditions in Gaza. According to UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, 94 percent of the population approximately 2.1 million people are now in urgent need of shelter and basic life-saving assistance.
“Four out of five families are facing critical or catastrophic levels of hunger,” Dujarric told reporters, emphasizing that the enclave is on the brink of famine.
More than four out of five families currently face critical or catastrophic living conditions, which lack fuel, energy and essential household items, according to UN agencies and partners.
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 21, 2026
“These constraints affect people’s ability to sleep, their ability to cook, their ability… pic.twitter.com/rAHjXlu18G
He also highlighted a severe funding shortfall hampering relief efforts. Shelter sector partners require $562 million to implement an emergency response, yet less than a quarter of that sum has been secured. For the most urgent cases alone, $165 million is immediately needed—a gap that humanitarian agencies warn could prove fatal for thousands of families already surviving on minimal aid.
Al-Shifa Hospital Records Another Child Casualty
At Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, medical staff confirmed the death of a child from wounds inflicted by Israeli gunfire in Beit Lahia—the same attack that claimed young Ahmed Ramzi Aqel. The hospital, already overwhelmed by chronic shortages of medicine, fuel, and surgical supplies, continues to receive a steady stream of wounded civilians as the security situation remains precarious.
With the ceasefire effectively in tatters and international calls for restraint unheeded, Gaza’s 2.3 million residents find themselves trapped between relentless military operations and a collapsing humanitarian system a crisis that UN officials warn has no parallel in recent memory.
Source: Palestinian media (edited and translated by Al-Manar)