The number of Palestinians killed in the 20-month conflict between Israel and Hamas has surpassed 55,000, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The agency does not distinguish between civilians and militants, but notes that women and children make up more than half of the dead.
This sad milestone in the conflict that began with the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, shows no signs of ending.
Israel says its strikes target only militants, blaming Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of hiding among civilians in densely populated areas.
According to the ministry, 55,104 people have been killed and 127,394 injured since the conflict began. More people are believed to have died under rubble or in areas inaccessible to local medics.
The Israeli military has razed vast swathes of Gaza, forcing an estimated 90% of the population to flee their homes, and in recent weeks has turned more than half the coastal area into a military buffer zone, including the virtually empty southern city of Rafah.
The long blockade imposed by Israel after a ceasefire with Hamas lasted two and a half months and raised fears of famine, but was eased slightly in May.
The launch of a new aid program backed by Israel and the US has been marred by unrest and violence, with the UN reporting difficulties in delivering food due to Israeli restrictions, disruption of security and widespread looting.
Israel accuses Hamas of misappropriating humanitarian aid, while the UN and aid agencies deny allegations that aid is systematically diverted to militants.
Hamas has suffered heavy military losses, and Israel claims to have killed more than 20,000 militants, but provides no evidence to support these claims.
Militants continue to hold 55 hostages (less than half of whom are believed to be alive) and maintain control of areas outside war zones, despite rare protests earlier this year.
The conflict began when Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on October 7 and took 251 hostages.
More than half of those captured were released as a result of ceasefires or other agreements. Israeli forces freed eight people and found the remains of dozens more.
Israel's military operation, one of the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, has reduced large parts of the city to rubble.
Hundreds of thousands of people live in unsanitary wards
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
