Over 60,000 Palestinians killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry says

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. Israeli strikes overnight killed more than two dozen people, mostly women and children, according to health officials.

Israel’s offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and fueled a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Experts warned Tuesday that the territory of some 2 million Palestinians is on the brink of famine after Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of security have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid.

The Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said the death toll has climbed to 60,034, with 145,870 others wounded since the war started. The victims include 18,592 children and 9,782 women. Together, they make up nearly half the dead.

The ministry is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. Israel has disputed its figures but has not provided its own account of casualties.

Dozens killed, most while seeking aid

Airstrikes on tents housing displaced people in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp late Monday killed 30 people, including 12 children and 14 women, according to Al-Awda Hspital.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas, saying the militants operate in populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas military infrastructure over the past day, including rocket launchers, weapons storage facilities and tunnels.

Hospital officials meanwhile said they received the bodies of an additional 33 people who were killed by gunfire around an aid convoy in southern Gaza on Monday, bringing the toll to 58. Witnesses said Israeli forces fired toward the crowd.

Another 14 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor, in central Gaza, according to local hospitals. GHF said there were no violent incidents near its sites on Tuesday.

The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment on either shooting.

Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office. Israel, which controls large areas of Gaza where aid is distributed, says it has only fired warning shots at those who approach its forces.

Hunger crisis has ‘dramatically’ worsened

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, the foremost international authority on food crises, said Gaza has teetered on the brink of famine for two years. But it said recent developments, including strict Israeli restrictions, have “dramatically worsened” the situation.

“The facts are in — and they are undeniable,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions… The trickle of aid must become an ocean.”

Under mounting international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to increase the flow of aid, including expanded humanitarian corridors and international aid drops. U.N. officials say there has so far been little change on the ground and far more is needed.

Air force cargo planes from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have dropped aid over Gaza in recent days, and France and Germany have announced plans to join that effort.

But Associated Press reporters in Gaza said much of the aid has so far fallen in so-called red zones that Israel has ordered people to evacuate from, and that some landed in the Mediterranean Sea.

U.N. agencies and aid groups have long expressed skepticism about airdrops over Gaza, saying they are far costlier and deliver much less aid than land shipments. Parcels can land on desperate crowds, causing injuries or deaths, and can also spark deadly stampedes as thousands try to reach them.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denied Israel was deliberately starving Gaza and said the focus on hunger was part of a “distorted campaign of international pressure.”

“This pressure is directly sabotaging the chances for a ceasefire and hostage deal. It is only pushing towards military escalation by hardening Hamas’s stance,” he said Tuesday.

The U.S. and Israel have both recalled their negotiating teams over the past week as long-running negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release seem to have stalled.

Hunger-related deaths

The World Health Organization says more than 60 people have died this month from malnutrition-related causes, including 24 children under five.

Overall, 88 children died of causes related to malnutrition since the start of the war, while 58 adults died this month from malnutrition-related causes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

During hunger crises, people can die from malnutrition or from common illnesses or injuries that the body is not strong enough to fight. The ministry doesn’t include hunger-related deaths in its overall toll.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack that sparked the war, and abducted another 251. They are still holding 50 captives, around 20 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.

The war took a major turn in early March when Israel imposed a complete 2 1/2 month blockade, barring the entry of all food, medicine, fuel and other goods. Weeks later, Israel ended a ceasefire with a surprise bombardment and began seizing large areas of Gaza, measures it said were aimed at pressuring Hamas to release more hostages.

At least 8,867 Palestinians have been killed since then.

Israel eased the blockade in May, but U.N. agencies say it hasn’t allowed nearly enough aid to enter and that they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order. An alternative Israeli-backed system run by GHF has been marred by violence and controversy.

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Magdy reported from Cairo.

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