Death toll in Gaza passes 27, 000 as fighting continues
-- AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2023 -- Palestinians pray near the bodies of members of the Hijazi family, killed in Israeli strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip before their burial on November 10, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. - More than 10,000 people have been killed across the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, since the war erupted after Hamas militants raided southern Israeli on October 7 killing at least 1400 people. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) / NO USE AFTER JANUARY 31, 2024 23:00:00 GMT - AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2023 - AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2023
No fewer than 27,478 Palestinians have been killed and 66,835 others injured in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave announced.
“Most of the victims were children and women,” the ministry said.
According to the statement, at least 113 people have been killed and 205 others injured in Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours alone.
It added that “Many of the victims are still trapped under rubble and on the road and rescuers can’t reach them.”
The soaring death toll coincides with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who is on the Middle East crisis tour as he looks to seek a new truce and “an enduring end” to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Mr Blinken held talks in Riyadh with the Saudi crown prince on Monday and he is expected to visit Egypt on Tuesday before flying to Qatar where he will meet the emir and the prime minister.
Israel has launched a lethal offensive in the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on October 7 that killed approximately 1,200 people, according to Tel Aviv.
The UN said the Israeli offensive has internally displaced 85% of Gaza’s population, resulting in serious shortages of food, potable water, and medicines, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
