Gaza death toll soars to 35,233 as Israel escalates assault

The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip has mounted to 35,233, the Health Ministry in the battered enclave said on Wednesday.

At least 79,141 other people have also been injured in the onslaught, the ministry added in a statement.

“Israeli forces killed 60 people and injured 80 others in five ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many of the victims 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 Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.

Over 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, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.