More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed during the 21-month war between Israel and Hamas - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - the Gaza Health Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led administration, said the death toll has reached 60,034, while over 145,870 people have been injured since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The ministry did not specify how many of those killed were civilians or militants, but said about half of the victims were women and children.
The ministry is staffed by medical professionals, and the United Nations, as well as independent experts, consider its statistics to be the most reliable regarding the number of victims.
The Israeli offensive has destroyed large parts of Gaza, displaced about 90 percent of the population and caused a severe humanitarian crisis.
The Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) warned that the man-made hunger crisis could be officially classified as a mass famine, in the hope that this could increase pressure on Israel to allow much more food aid to be sent.
"Growing evidence shows that widespread hunger, malnutrition and disease are causing an increase in food-related deaths," the IPC report said.
This institution added that it will soon conduct a formal analysis that would allow it to declare Gaza as "in mass starvation."
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – in the attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war and kidnapped 251 others. They are currently holding about 50 hostages, of whom 20 are believed to still be alive, the rest having been released under ceasefires or other agreements.
The war took a major turn in early March, when Israel imposed a complete blockade for more than two and a half months, barring the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other goods. A few weeks later, Israel broke the ceasefire with a surprise bombardment and began occupying large parts of Gaza — moves it said were intended to increase pressure on Hamas to release more hostages.
Since then, at least 8,867 Palestinians have been killed./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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