112 Palestinians killed in Gaza in last 24 hours, death toll climbs to 28,176
Gaza, Palestine - At least 112 more Palestinians were killed and 173 others injured in the last 24 hours as Israel continues its onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, the territory’s Health Ministry said on Sunday.
“The Israeli occupation committed 14 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 112 martyrs and 173 injured during the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the statement said.
Flouting the provisional ruling of the International Court of Justice, Israel continues its offensive on the Gaza Strip where at least 28,176 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 67,784 injured since October 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.
The Israeli offensive has left 85 per cent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Attack on hospital
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Saturday said that at least two people were killed and five others injured in the Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip over the last two days. “In the past 48 hours, MSF staff report shots fired at people inside Nasser Hospital. Two people were killed, five others injured, including one nurse who was severely wounded,” it said on X.
It noted that the medical staff of the hospital are afraid to move within and around the hospital due to the fear of being shot.
It said that Israeli forces are continuing operations in the immediate vicinity of Nasser Hospital, adding: “We are worried for the lives of MSF colleagues, medical staff and patients at Nasser Hospital. Medical facilities, their surroundings and staff should always be protected, and access to hospitals unhindered.”
The Israeli army has slapped a siege around the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis city since January 22 as part of its military offensive in the area.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that ‘deepening’ the military operation in Gaza brings Tel Aviv closer to reaching a ‘realistic agreement’ to return hostages.
“This morning, we are hosting the IDF (Israeli army) Cabinet meeting, to show the ministers exactly how we are reaching and deepening our achievements and what we have found in Gaza,” said Gallant in a televised speech broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Corporation showing, in the background, weapons and missiles that Gallant claimed were found by the Israeli army at Hamas sites in Gaza.
“You can see a small part of the things here, missiles, explosive devices, mines, a very large number of maps, means of communication, documents, and computers,” he added.
“We penetrated into the heart of Hamas’s most sensitive places, and used its intelligence against it,” Gallant said, claiming: “We blew up their weapons in the field. All of this leads to penetrating the heart of Hamas’ capabilities. The deeper we delve into this process, the closer we come to reaching a realistic agreement to return the hostages.”
Hamas is believed to be holding nearly 136 Israelis. There was no comment from Hamas on Gallant’s statement.
However, thousands of Israelis demonstrated on Saturday in Tel Aviv and Haifa to demand the dismissal of the government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, the holding of early elections and a hostage swap deal with Hamas, according to media reports.
Private Channel 12 reported that thousands protested in Habima Square in central Tel Aviv against the government and demanded early elections.
The official Israeli broadcasting authority noted ‘a massive demonstration in Tel Aviv demanding the government to reach a deal for the return of all the hostages, and other two protests in front of Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem’.