UPDATE - Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza rises to 2,670

ADDS MORE INFO, CHANGES DECK

By Mohammed Abudoun

GAZA, Palestine (AA) – The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has risen to 2,670, the local Health Ministry said Sunday.

In a statement, the ministry said that 750 children were among the dead.

The number of wounded has risen to 9,600, it said.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said 50 Palestinian families have been completely removed from the civil registry due to the ongoing Israeli airstrikes.

She described the situation in Gaza as “grave and catastrophic on all levels.”

More than 470,000 people have also been displaced as a result of the airstrikes, worsening the overall suffering.

Overcrowding, a lack of electricity and water shortages have led to the spread of infectious diseases, Alkaila added.

She also stressed the need for urgent and decisive international action to end the conflict.

Last weekend, in a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces launched a sustained military push against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

It said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers' growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering more than 1 million Gazans in the northern Strip to evacuate to the southern region.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala