Gaza death toll surpasses 38,900 as Israel kills 37 more Palestinians

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) — The Israeli army killed 37 more Palestinians in attacks on the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll to 38,919 since last Oct. 7, the enclave's Health Ministry said on Saturday.

A statement by the ministry added that some 89,622 others have been injured in the ongoing offensive.

"Israeli forces killed 37 people and injured 54 others in four 'massacres' against families in the last 24 hours," the ministry said.

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

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.