Ministry: Death toll reaches over 40,000 in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli attacks

The Palestinian Health Ministry has said that the death toll in the Gaza Strip increased up to 42,847 since October 7, 2023.

"During the past 24 hours, 55 individuals fell victim to Israeli military attacks during four incidents of mass killings across different parts of the Gaza Strip. Moreover, 132 residents of the enclave sustained injuries," the ministry said, Caliber.Az reports via Turkish media. 

"The total number of fatalities resulting from what is being described as genocide perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has reached 42,847, with injuries reported at 100,544," the ministry said.

"The bodies of the deceased remain unrecovered beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings and along the roadsides. Emergency response teams and civil defence representatives are unable to reach them due to obstacles imposed by Israeli forces," the ministry added. 

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly.

Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.

By Naila Huseynova