The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced on Thursday that the death toll from the Israeli occupation’s war on Gaza has risen to 67,194 killed and 169,890 injured since 7 October 2023, one of the most horrific mass atrocities in modern history.
The ministry reported that 11 people were killed and 49 injured in the last 24 hours alone. Among the dead were 2,615 humanitarian workers, with more than 19,177 injured, highlighting the repeated targeting of aid workers, despite the legal protection afforded to them under international humanitarian law.
Since the resumption of the Israeli occupation’s military assault on 18 March 2025, the total has reached 13,598 deaths and 57,849 injuries.
The ministry added that many victims remain trapped under the rubble or in the streets, unreachable due to ongoing bombardment and severe shortages in fuel and rescue equipment.
According to the 1948 Genocide Convention, genocide is defined as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, or religious group, through killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, or deliberately inflicting life conditions aimed at physical destruction.
United Nations and international organisation reports affirm that these conditions apply to what is happening in Gaza: the complete blockade, targeting of civilians, destruction of medical and educational infrastructure, and starvation tactics all constitute the physical and mental elements of the crime of genocide.
In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that there are “plausible grounds” to believe that the Israeli occupation is committing acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention. The court ordered the Israeli occupation to take immediate steps to halt such violations, yet the military operations intensified further.
Amid this humanitarian catastrophe, a new agreement was announced at dawn on Thursday between the Israeli occupation and Palestinian factions as part of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, following four days of indirect negotiations in Sharm El Sheikh, involving Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey under American supervision. No official implementation date has been released.
However, political settlements in the midst of ongoing atrocities do not absolve the international community of its legal responsibilities. Under international law, states that are party to the Genocide Convention have a duty not only to prevent and punish, but also to act beyond mere mediation.
International legal experts agree that the continued blockade, denial of aid, and targeting of civilian infrastructure amount to a protracted crime that warrants urgent intervention by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Security Council to hold perpetrators accountable and stop the bloodshed threatening over two million Palestinians in Gaza.
