Israeli Airstrikes Kill 23 More Palestinians As Gaza Death Toll Surges to 45,361
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 23 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the enclave's Health Ministry reported on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll since last year to 45,361, with over 107,800 others injured.
Israeli forces carried out three attacks on families in Gaza within the last 24 hours, killing 23 people and injuring 39 others, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
Al Jazeera Arabic reported that at least three Palestinians, including a child, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli bombing of a school in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of western Gaza City. The school housed displaced families seeking shelter.
Earlier, a pregnant woman lost her life in an Israeli airstrike targeting a residential house in Gaza City. Medics managed to save her baby, but the mother did not survive.
Elsewhere, renowned Palestinian writer Walaa Jumaa Al-Ifranji and her husband Ahmed Saeed Salama were killed in an airstrike on their home near the Nuseirat refugee camp.
In Khan Younis, a baby succumbed to the cold while living in a makeshift camp, as displaced residents continue to endure dire conditions after months of displacement.
“These are not numbers. These are lives cut short,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in a post on X.
“Killing children cannot be justified. Those who survive are scarred physically and emotionally ... the clock is ticking for these children,” Lazzarini added, emphasizing the urgent need for aid and protection.
UNRWA has been supporting Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, and neighboring regions, but Israel has announced plans to ban the agency's operations in Gaza and the West Bank starting next month.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza, ongoing since October 7 of last year, continues despite international calls for a ceasefire, including a UN Security Council resolution.
The Israeli genocidal war has drawn widespread condemnation, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In addition, Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its crimes in Gaza, as critics condemn it for targeting civilians and blocking essential aid deliveries in a systematic campaign to cleans the population.