Gaza death toll surpasses 42,500 as Israel kills 19 more Palestinians

By Ikram Kouachi

At least 19 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, bringing the overall death toll since October last year to 42,519, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Saturday.

A ministry statement added that some 99,637 others were injured in the ongoing assault.

“Israeli forces killed 19 people and injured 91 others in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

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

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.