Israel kills 55 more Gazans as death toll surpasses 43,300

At least 55 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, bringing the overall death toll since last year to 43,314, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Saturday, Anadolu news agency reported.

A ministry statement added that some 102,019 others were injured in the ongoing assault.

“Israeli forces killed 55 people and injured 192 others in seven massacres of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, Israel has intensified its offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last October.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

READ: 25 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on northern, central Gaza Strip