Gaza death toll exceeds 32,400 amid Israeli offensive

ANKARA

At least 32,414 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said on Tuesday.

A ministry statement said that 74,787 other Palestinians have also been injured in the onslaught.

“Israeli attacks killed at least 81 people and injured 93 others in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads and rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

The Israeli war, now in its 172nd day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

On Monday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

While Hamas welcomed the resolution, Israel rejected the cease-fire call and vowed to continue its war on the Palestinian enclave.

Israel is accused of genocide at the ICJ, which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.