By Tala Ramadan
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, the enclave’s health ministry said, a conflict that has devastated the coastal territory and triggered a humanitarian crisis.
Most of the Palestinians killed are civilians according to the enclave’s health authorities.
The ministry said on Tuesday that the number of injured is 145,870, while thousands remain missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings and areas.
The war began after Gaza’s dominant Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a cross-border attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel’s subsequent air and ground campaign has leveled entire neighbourhoods in Gaza, displaced most of the population of 2.3 million, and pushed the enclave to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.
Israel says its operations are aimed at dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities and securing the release of hostages.
The military says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters in Gaza and destroyed hundreds of kilometers of tunnels used by the militants.
The fighting has drawn international condemnation and calls for a ceasefire, with global aid agencies warning of a collapse of essential services and rampant outbreaks of disease.
The latest round of indirect ceasefire talks in Doha between Israel and Hamas broke off last week with no deal in sight.
HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE
Much of Gaza has been devastated during over 21 months of conflict, raising concerns about worsening starvation.
Israel says Hamas is to blame for harm to civilians throughout the war, because its fighters operate among them, which the militants deny. It says it has allowed enough food into Gaza, and blames the United Nations for failing to distribute it. The U.N. says it has operated as effectively as possible under severe restrictions imposed by Israel.
Palestinian health officials have warned that hundreds of people could soon perish as hospitals are overwhelmed with patients experiencing dizziness and exhaustion amid severe food shortages and a breakdown in aid deliveries.
The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said that its staff, as well as doctors and humanitarian workers, were fainting on duty in Gaza due to hunger and exhaustion.
After images of starving Palestinians alarmed the world in recent weeks, Israel announced on Sunday a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors.
Aid trucks began moving towards Gaza from Egypt, while Jordan and the United Arab Emirates airdropped supplies into the enclave.
(Reporting by Tala Ramadan in Dubai, Editing by Mark Heinrich and Peter Graff)
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