85 Palestinians killed in Gaza in last 24 hours, death toll climbs to 31,045

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) – At least 85 Palestinians were killed and 130 others injured in the last 24 hours as Israel continues its onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, the territory's Health Ministry said on Sunday.

“The Israeli occupation committed eight massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 85 martyrs and 130 injured during the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.

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

“The death toll from malnutrition and dehydration rose to 25,” it noted, adding: “72% of victims of the Israeli aggression on Gaza are children and women.”

Flouting the provisional ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 72,654 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

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

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory'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.

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

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.