Israeli attacks kill 68 more Gazans as death toll surpasses 40,600

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – At least 68 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll since last Oct. 7, to 40,602, the Health Ministry in the battered enclave said on Thursday.

A ministry statement added that some 93,855 others have been injured in the ongoing assault.

“Israeli forces killed 68 people and injured 77 others in four ‘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 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 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.