Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza nears 40,000

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to nearly 40,000, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 32 people and wounded 88 others, bringing the total death toll to 39,929 and injuries to 92,240 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, according to the statement.

There are still many victims under the rubble and on the roads, with ambulance and civil defense crews unable to reach them, it added.

Meanwhile, seven people were killed on Tuesday after an Israeli bombing of a house in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Four people were killed in an Israeli bombing on Deir al-Balah, also in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Israeli military issued two new evacuation orders, primarily for areas that were previously placed under evacuation. So far, about 305 square kilometers, or nearly 84 percent of the Gaza Strip, have been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to an update released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday.

Since July 4, the UN Human Rights Office has recorded 21 strikes against schools serving as shelters in the Strip, which have resulted in at least 274 fatalities, including women and children, the update said.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas attack through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.