Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 50,000 Palestinians since October 2023

Health officials estimate that there have been more than 50 000 Palestinian deaths since Israel’s invasion of Gaza in October 2023.

Since Israel began attacking the besieged territory following an attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 50, 021 Palestinians have died and 113, 274 have been injured. In the southern Israeli attack, an estimated 1, 139 people were killed, and 250 were taken as prisoners.

As Israel intensifies its attacks on Gaza after refusing to participate in the second phase of a ceasefire agreement it had signed with Hamas in January, according to the ministry, at least 41 people have died in the past 24 hours reporting period.

Israel would have had to withdraw its forces from Gaza under a condition stipulated in the agreement reached through Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. More than 150 Palestinians were killed in Gaza even during phase 1, which started on January 19 and saw the release of captives in exchange for Israeli prisoners imprisoned there.

Hani Mahmoud, a journalist from Gaza City in northern Gaza, described the death toll as a “very grim, horrifying milestone.”

The 50, 000 figure is only an accurate estimate, according to the organization. Only those who have been registered in hospitals throughout the Gaza Strip have been identified. Many more have gone missing or been buried under piles of rubble, according to Mahmoud, who had not been identified.

“Of the more than 50, 000 killed, 17, 000 are children. A whole generation has been destroyed. These kids would have had an impact on how their society had developed politically, economically, and intellectually, he added.

The Gaza media office reports that the confirmed death toll is only 11, 000, but a study published last July in the Lancet journal estimated that the cumulative effects of Israel’s war on Gaza could increase to more than 186, 000 people.

Analysts claim that the number of civilians killed by Israel’s attacks is inconsistent with its repeated claims that it carefully targets Hamas members.

Omar Rahman, a fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, stated to Al Jazeera that Israel has been making these kinds of baseless claims for the past 17 months. They are completely unsupported by the evidence from the field.

The evidence frequently suggests deliberate targeting of civilians and infrastructure, which contributes to the high child death rate, according to the author.

forced evacuations

As its troops began operations in the area, the Israeli military on Sunday called on residents of Rafah, in southern Gaza, to forcibly evade.

Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan neighborhood was allegedly surrounded by Israeli troops.

Israel has been accused of repeatedly pursuing alleged “safe zones” where people were forced to find shelter.

In northern Gaza, the Israeli military also announced that it was conducting operations there.

After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would use a military strategy to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal to release the remaining captives, who were not exchanged under the January ceasefire agreement, Israel resumed its attacks and shattered the ceasefire.

If Israel consents to phase 2 of the previous truce agreement, Hamas reiterates that it is ready to release all of the prisoners.

More than 600 people have been killed by Israel, including more than 200 children, since Tuesday.

In Khan Younis early on Sunday, Hamas announced that its official Salah al-Bardawil was killed in an Israeli attack on his tent.

Gaza is suffering from an ongoing food, water, medical, and fuel shortage after Israel’s total blockade began in early March. Amnesty International, a rights organization, called it “cruel and unlawful” to stop electricity from flowing to a desalination plant in Gaza.

Israel has been urged by rights groups, aid organizations, and a number of nations, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, to grant humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Source: Aljazeera