Israel kills 78 more Gazans as death toll nears 43,500

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Israeli attacks killed at least 78 more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, pushing up the overall death toll since last year to 43,469, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Thursday.

A ministry statement added that some 102,561 others were injured in the ongoing assault.

“The Israeli occupation has committed six massacres of families in the last 48 hours, resulting in 78 deaths and 214 injuries,” the ministry said.

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

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

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