Gaza death toll surges past 34,500

At least 47 more Palestinians were killed and 61 others injured over the last 24 hours, as Israel continues its onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, the territory’s Health Ministry announced.

“The Israeli occupation (forces) committed five massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 47 martyrs and 61 injured during the past 24 hours,” a ministry statement said.

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

Flouting the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 34,535 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 77,704 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.