Photo: Mahmud Hams Agence France-Presse Israel’s air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. Bombings and shelling have killed entire Palestinian families.
Published yesterday at 12:25
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the health ministry in the territory, which is controlled by the Islamist group, said Thursday.
The Israeli offensive has also injured 92,401 people and forced more than 85 percent of Gazans from their homes, the Gaza health ministry said. The toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The announcement comes as international mediators are once again trying to broker a ceasefire to end the 10-month-old war.
The conflict began on October 7 when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and dragging about 250 hostages into Gaza.
Israel says 111 of the captives have yet to be freed, including the bodies of 39 people. The remaining hostages are believed to include 15 women and two children under the age of 5.
In Gaza, health workers struggle to fully identify victims, as bodies flood into hospitals and morgues that are already overwhelmed. The count is being carried out in the chaos of war and displacement, they say.
In its most recent report, published Thursday, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that 40,005 people have been killed in the enclave since the start of the war.
However, the true toll is likely several thousand deaths higher, warn health authorities and civil defense workers, as many bodies remain buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed by airstrikes.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000A study published by the British medical journal The Lancet estimates that 186,000 deaths can be attributed to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, including indirect causes, such as deaths linked to the health crisis.
Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza was one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history .
Bombing and shelling have killed entire Palestinian families. With cemeteries often inaccessible, families fleeing airstrikes bury their dead wherever possible — in yards, along roadsides, under the stairs of their homes.
Israel says it wants to eliminate Hamas. The Israeli military blames it for civilian deaths in Gaza, arguing that its fighters operate in civilian areas and have built extensive networks of tunnels under them.
Israeli forces have regularly targeted mosques, schools, hospitals and cemeteries where they believe fighters or tunnels are located, often causing civilian casualties.
The fighting has also resulted in the deaths of 329 Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military estimates that around 15,000 Hamas fighters are among the dead in Gaza, but has not provided evidence to support this claim.
Nearly 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes, fleeing repeatedly across the territory to escape ground offensives. During the war, thousands of people in Israel and southern Lebanon have also been displaced.
The assault has created a massive humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The entire territory is at high risk of famine, with more than 495,000 people expected to face the most severe levels of hunger in the coming months, according to the latest report from the leading authority on measuring hunger.
Sanitation systems have been destroyed, leaving behind pools of sewage and mountains of waste in tent camps filled with displaced families.
The offensive has damaged or destroyed 59 percent of all structures in Gaza as of July 3, including 70 percent of buildings in the northern part of the territory, according to an analysis by Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, experts in mapping war damage.
The conflict has raised fears of a broader flare-up of tensions in the Middle East, with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Israeli military exchanging fire almost daily.
More than 500 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, including 350 Hezbollah members and 50 fighters from other militant groups. In Israel, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians were killed.
With Agence France-Presse
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