UPDATES WITH OVERALL DEATH TOLL, REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE
By Nour Abuaisha, Mohammad Sio, Betul Yilmaz
ISTANBUL (AA) – At least 66,097 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
A ministry statement said that 42 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 190 people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 168,536 in the Israeli onslaught.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
It also noted that five Palestinians were killed and 56 others injured by Israeli army fire while trying to get humanitarian aid in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed while seeking aid to 2,576, with over 18,873 others wounded since May 27.
The Israeli army resumed its attacks on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has since killed 13,229 people and injured 56,495 others, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.
The statement added that 453 people, including 150 children, died of malnutrition and famine in the territory since October 2023, with food and other essential supplies blocked by a longstanding Israeli blockade.
According to the ministry, 175 people, including 35 children, have died of starvation since the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared famine in Gaza this August.
On Aug. 22, the IPC declared famine in Gaza City and warned it would spread to central and southern Gaza by the end of September.
Israel has kept all border crossings with Gaza closed since March 2, blocking humanitarian aid and pushing the enclave into famine despite relief trucks piling up at its borders.
Israel occasionally allows very limited amounts of aid to enter, but those shipments fall short of meeting basic needs and have not ended the famine. Most trucks have been looted by gangs that the Gaza administration accuses Israel of protecting.
The relentless Israeli bombardment of Gaza since October 2023 has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.