Palestinian death toll nears 34,600 as Israel continues to pound besieged Gaza

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – The Palestinian death toll has surged to 34,596 as Israel continued its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since last October, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Thursday.

A ministry statement added that 77,816 other people had been injured in the onslaught.

“At least 28 Palestinians were killed and 51 others injured in Israeli attacks 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.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.

Tel Aviv has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.