Palestinian death toll nears 35,000 as Israel continues to pound Gaza

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) – At least 34,971 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said on Saturday.

A ministry statement added that 78,641 other people have also been injured in the onslaught.

“Israeli attacks killed 28 people and injured 69 others in the last 24 hours,” the statement 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 Gaza Strip 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.

Seven 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.