Gaza death toll from Israeli onslaught exceeds 37,400

The Palestinian death toll from relentless Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last October has reached 37,431, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said on Thursday.

At least 85,653 people have also been injured in the onslaught, the ministry added in a statement.

“Israeli forces killed 35 people and injured 130 others in four ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.