Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza rises to 40,939

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,939, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday, reported Xinhua.

During the past 48 hours, the Israeli military killed 61 people and wounded 162 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,939 and injuries to 94,616 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last October, it added.

On Saturday, eight people were killed and 15 others injured in the Israeli targeting of the Halima al-Sa'diyya school in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it carried out a precise strike on militants operating inside a Hamas command and control compound embedded in the Halima al-Sa'diyya school.

"The compound was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and carry out terrorist operations against IDF troops and the State of Israel," the statement added.

Israel has been waging a large-scale war on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, in response to a surprise military attack by Hamas on Israeli towns adjacent to the strip.