DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian dying toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas struggle has climbed previous 55,000, the Gaza Well being Ministry stated Wednesday.
The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, however has stated that girls and kids make up greater than half the lifeless.
It’s a grim milestone within the struggle that started with Hamas’ assault into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and exhibits no signal of ending. Israel says it solely targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of hiding amongst civilians, as a result of they function in populated areas.
The ministry says 55,104 folks have been killed for the reason that begin of the struggle and 127,394 wounded. Many extra are believed to be buried below the rubble or in areas which can be inaccessible to native medics.
Israeli forces have destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced about 90% of its population and in latest weeks have reworked greater than half of the coastal territory into a military buffer zone that features the now principally uninhabited southern metropolis of Rafah.
A 2½-month blockade imposed by Israel when it ended a ceasefire with Hamas raised fears of famine and was barely eased in Could. The launch of a brand new Israeli- and U.S.-backed assist system has been marred by chaos and violence, and the U.N. says it has struggled to herald meals due to Israeli restrictions, a breakdown of regulation and order, and widespread looting.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off assist, however the U.N. and assist teams deny there’s any systematic diversion of assist to militants.
Hamas has suffered main setbacks militarily, and Israel says it has killed greater than 20,000 militants, with out offering proof. The militants nonetheless maintain 55 hostages — lower than half of them believed to be alive — and management areas exterior of army zones regardless of facing rare protests earlier this yr.
The struggle started when Hamas-led militants killed round 1,200 folks, principally civilians, within the Oct. 7 assault and kidnapped 251 hostages. More than half the captives have been launched in ceasefires or different offers. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered the stays of dozens extra.
Israel’s army marketing campaign, one of many deadliest and most harmful since World Warfare II, has reworked giant elements of cities into mounds of rubble. A whole lot of hundreds of individuals are dwelling in squalid tent camps and unused colleges, and the well being system has been gutted, even because it copes with waves of wounded from Israeli strikes.
Comply with AP’s struggle protection at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
