DEYAL AL BARA, Gaza Strip – A hospital in the Gaza Strip has received the bodies of 51 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in the last 24 hours, the local health ministry said on Sunday that it has caused 52,243 Palestinian deaths from the 18-month Israeli-Hamas War.
Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas by launching a surprising fire on March 18th, and has been carrying out a wave of daily strikes ever since. Ground forces have expanded the buffer zone, encircling the southern city of Rafa, and now controls about 50% of the territory.
Israel also blocked 2 million Palestinians on its territory from all imports, including food and medicine, for nearly 60 days. Aid groups say supplies are running out quickly and thousands of children are malnourished.
The overall death toll includes nearly 700 groups whose documentation process has recently been completed, the department said in its latest update. Daily tolls include bodies recovered from Kurarub after a previous strike.
The Israeli strike killed 12 more people after the ministry’s renewal. Eight children, including three children and two women, were killed in a strike in a tent in a southern city in Khan Eunice, according to Nasser Hospital. According to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a strike in the central city of Deir Al-Balah killed four people.
Israeli authorities say the aim is to put pressure on Hamas to release the war-inducing attacks to release hostages that were accused of on October 7, 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and all hostages are returned.
Hamas said he would release only the remaining 59 hostages (those believed to be alive) in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians in the attack on October 7th, and took 251 hostages. Most have since been released on ceasefire contracts or other transactions.
Gaza’s health ministry says women and children make up a major part of Palestine’s deaths, but it doesn’t say how many militants and civilians exist. It is said that another 117,600 people were injured in the war.
The overall tally includes 2,151 deaths and 5,598 injuries since Israel resumed the war last month.
Israel says it killed around 20,000 extremists without providing evidence. The military says it is trying to avoid harm to civilians, and Hamas is denounced for their deaths as extremists operate in densely populated areas.
Israeli attacks destroyed vast parts of Gaza, expelled about 90% of the population, and hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated to creepy tent camps and bombed buildings.
