Over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its war in the region on October 7, health officials in the territory said, according to the Associated Press. More than 70,000 have been wounded in the region.
The toll in the war crossed the 30,000-mark as Israeli troops fired at a crowd of Palestinians collecting aid in Gaza City on Thursday. At least 112 people were killed and 750 injured, Al Jazeera reported.
Commenting on the situation in the region, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations’ Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs remarked that even after five months of hostilities, Gaza “still has the ability to shock us”. He added: “Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health appealed to the international community to “urgently intervene” and call for a ceasefire as it was the “the only way to protect civilians”.
The Israeli government, in response to troops firing at Palestinians collecting aid, said that many had died due to stampede, reported AP. Troops fired only when they felt “endangered”, it added.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that his country’ forces “acted excellently against a Gazan mob that tried to harm them”, reported Middle East Eye.
Amnesty International said that Gvir’s call to stop transferring aid to Gaza on the grounds that it purportedly endangers Israeli soldiers was “outrageous and inhumane”.
The war, which started after Palestinian militant organisation Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel on October 7, has continued for more than four months. Hamas had killed 1,200 people in the attack and taken more than 200 persons hostage. Some of them were released in November as part of a brief ceasefire agreement in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and humanitarian aid.
The current death toll of 30,000 is equal to around 1.3% of the territory’s total population of 2.3 million, the BBC reported. Women and children make up for a majority of those killed.
On Tuesday, the United Nations said that a quarter of Gaza’s population are at the brink of starvation, AP reported. It added that one in six children under the age of two in northern Gaza were suffering from “acute malnutrition and wasting”.
Gaza’s health ministry, on Wednesday, said that six children had died due to dehydration and malnutrition at hospitals in northern Gaza.
Israel’s military action in the Palestinian region continues despite the International Court of Justice’s ruling in January that asked Tel Aviv to take immediate steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
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