ISRAELI forces killed at least 46 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip today, while another seven died of malnutrition.

Those killed include more than 30 people who lost their lives while seeking humanitarian aid, according to those who treated dozens of wounded.

The Israeli military didn’t immediately comment on any of the killings, but it claims to only targets militants.

In addition, seven Palestinians, including a child, have died of malnutrition-related causes in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the coastal enclave’s Health Ministry said today. 

A total of 89 children have died of malnutrition since the war began in Gaza. The ministry said that 65 Palestinian adults have also died of malnutrition-related causes across the territory since late June, when it started counting deaths among adults.

Israel launched its brutal military campaign in response to a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023 in whicharound 1,200 people were killed and 251 abducted. The Palestinian groups still holds 50 hostages, most of the rest having been released during ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed well over 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. 

On Tuesday, high-level representatives at a United Nations conference urged Israel to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state and gave “unwavering support” to a two-state solution, signalling widespread international determination to end one of the world’s longest conflicts.

The plan would lead to an independent, demilitarised Palestine peacefully co-existing with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution and has rejected the meeting on both nationalist and security grounds. Israel’s close ally, the United States, is also boycotting the conference, dismissing it as “unproductive and ill timed.”

The conference declaration condemns Israel’s attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and its “siege and starvation, which have produced a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis.”

The document calls on Hamas to “end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority,” while also urging countries to recognise Palestinian statehood, calling it “an essential and indispensable component of the achievement of the two-state solution.”

Ahead of the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country would recognise the state of Palestine at the UN general assembly meeting in September. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that Britain would recognise Palestine as a state before the general assembly meeting, but only if Israel fails to agree to a ceasefire and long-term peace process in the next eight weeks.