Palestinian presidency says focusing on stopping ‘barbaric’ Israeli aggression

“The whole world is watching the brutal massacres carried out by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip by targeting children, women, the elderly, hospitals and places of worship, in addition to the crimes of the occupation army and terrorist colonists in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.

Abu Rudeineh added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements since the start of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza “prove that this government seeks to perpetuate its occupation of all the Palestinian territories.”

He reiterated the Palestinian presidency’s stance that “the only way to achieve peace and security is to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with international legitimacy and international law and to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.”

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Authorities in Gaza confirmed Monday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 has jumped to over 13,300. In a statement, the Gaza-based government’s media office said the death toll includes 5,600 children and 3,550 women. It added that it also includes 201 medical staff, 22 members of civil defense rescue teams and 60 journalists.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.