The death toll from Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip has risen to 65,141, with 165,925 injured since 7 October 2023.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza stated on Wednesday that this includes 12,590 deaths and 53,884 injuries since 18 March, in which Israeli forces resumed its offensive on the Strip following a ceasefire agreement.
It added that during the past 24 hours, nine or more people awaiting aid were killed and 33 injured after arriving at hospitals, bringing the total number of those killed while seeking basic necessities to 1,060, with more than 7,207 injured.
According to the ministry, hospitals have received 79 dead bodies, including 13 recovered from rubble, and 282 injured people during the last 24 hours.
Medical sources reported that 14 people, including nine in Gaza City, were killed by Israeli shelling and gunfire since dawn on Thursday.
They added that one person was killed and others wounded in an Israeli drone strike on the al-Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City, while several others were injured when Israeli aircraft targeted a group of people near the Palmyra restaurant in the same area.
In al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, four people were killed and ten injured when the Israeli military targeted a house in Block 7 of the camp.
In Khan Younis, a displaced woman from Beit Lahia was shot dead by Israeli forces in the Hamad City area north of the city.
Under international law, targeting unarmed civilians, their homes and displaced persons’ camps constitutes crimes against humanity. The destruction of civilian infrastructure and the forced mass displacement of the population amount to a systematic policy that falls within the definition of genocide, especially amid ongoing mass killings, a suffocating siege and deliberate famine that has claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinians, including children.
The United Nations has previously warned that Gaza faces the risk of “human annihilation” as a result of the ongoing war and prolonged blockade. Nevertheless, Israel continues to commit grave violations without accountability, backed by the United States, which exacerbates the suffering of civilians and prolongs the humanitarian catastrophe.
