Israel kills 61 more Palestinians as death toll in Gaza exceeds 38,400

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) – At least 61 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, pushing up the overall death toll to 38,443 since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the battered territory said on Saturday.

A ministry statement added that the Israeli onslaughts have injured 88,481 more Palestinians.

“Israeli forces killed 61 people and injured 129 more 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.

It also stated that “the death toll of the heinous occupation massacre against displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of ​​Khan Younis is more than 71 martyrs and 289 injuries.”

In an attempt to justify the Israeli "massacre" of Palestinians, Israeli media claimed that the Israeli army bombed the Al-Mawasi area to target Mohammed Deif, the commander-in-chief of the Al-Qassam Brigades, which Hamas denied.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by 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 is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.