Gaza death toll nears 35,100 as Israeli assault continues

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip since last October has surged to 35,091, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Monday.

At least 78,827 other people have also been injured in the onslaught, the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli attacks killed 57 people and injured 82 others in the last 24 hours, the ministry said, adding that many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.

Israel has waged a relentless offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.

Tel Aviv has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its entire population on the verge of starvation.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

South Africa on Friday asked The Hague-based court to order Israel to withdraw from the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1.5 million displaced people have been sheltered, as part of additional emergency measures over the war.