UPDATE 4 - Death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza rises to 197, including 58 children

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL, NUMBER OF INJURED; MINOR EDITS; CHANGES HEADLINE

By Mustafa Deveci

JERUSALEM (AA) – The death toll from Israeli attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip on Sunday rose to 197, including 58 children and 34 women, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Despite international outrage over its deadly raids, Israel continued its attacks on Gaza overnight Saturday into Sunday.

In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said 42 Palestinians, including 10 women and 16 children, lost their lives in attacks carried out by Israel since midnight. The number of injured has reached 1,235.

Meanwhile, Anwar Atallah, the ministry’s Arab and Turkish relations officer, told Anadolu Agency that the attacks caused great destruction, and their continued heavy death toll has left no room in morgues.

The recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate against Israeli assaults on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah if they were not halted.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.