The latest casualties bring the total Palestinian death toll to 37,834, with 86,858 injuries reported since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023.
Gaza: At least 40 Palestinians were killed and 224 others injured in Israeli attacks across the besieged Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, as per the health authorities controlled by Hamas. The latest casualties bring the total Palestinian death toll to 37,834, with 86,858 injuries reported since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023, the health authorities said on Saturday.
Officials added that rescue teams faced significant obstacles in reaching areas targeted by attacks due to fuel shortages and intense clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed factions, particularly in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza and the Shujaeya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, Xinhua news agency reported.
Avichay Adraee, an Israeli military spokesperson, stated in a press release on Saturday that Israeli forces are actively targeting “terrorist” sites in the Shujaeya area, engaging in operations both above and below ground. During the past hours, the forces eliminated many “saboteurs” in clashes, and the troops found a weapons depot inside a school complex in the area, he added, news agency IANS reported.
In Rafah, the Israeli forces eliminated several “saboteurs” and destroyed many “terrorist” infrastructure, including tunnel openings, according to Adraee. Sharing a post on X, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East wrote, “Trash is piling up everywhere, people are living under plastic sheeting where temperatures soar. @UNWateridge Families in #Gaza live next to mountains of garbage and sewage. With very few bathrooms available and unbearable summer heat, the sanitary conditions are desperate.”
Earlier on Friday, the Pentagon announced that adverse weather conditions have led to the removal of a temporary floating aid pier operated by the US off the coast of Gaza. This marks the third interruption since mid-May in efforts to facilitate humanitarian deliveries. “Temporarily relocating the pier will prevent potential structural damage that could be caused by the heightened sea state,” said Sabrina Singh, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary, during a briefing on Friday, IANS reported.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage