More than 70 people have been killed after Israeli forces fired at Palestinians collecting food aid in the Gaza Strip, taking the total death toll to more than 30,000 since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza nearly five months ago, according to the Ministry of Health in the besieged enclave,
Al Jazeera reports.
The ministry’s update on Thursday comes amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, on the brink of famine, as the Israeli military threatens a ground invasion of Rafah, where about 1.5 million people, most of them were displaced by the war, are sheltering.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, called for a ceasefire on social media, saying the “horrific violence and suffering” must end. More than 70,000 Palestinians had been injured, he said.
Ignoring international condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated a few days ago that the campaign against Rafah, the main entry point for urgently needed supplies of food and medicine, “will happen”.
A captive-prisoner swap deal, being discussed as part of an Israel-Hamas truce negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, would only “delay” an assault on the crowded city, he said.
