By Elham Asaad Buaras
London (The Muslim News): More than 53,762 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in October 2023, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The figures, released on Thursday, mark one of the deadliest episodes in recent Middle Eastern history.
In the past 24 hours alone, 107 bodies were brought to hospitals, and 247 people were wounded, bringing the total number of injured to 122,197. Rescue operations continue to face severe obstacles, with the ministry warning that “many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them.”
Eyewitnesses reported fresh Israeli airstrikes on homes and makeshift shelters housing displaced civilians across the war-ravaged strip.
The Health Ministry also confirmed that 16,503 children have been killed since the outbreak of hostilities. The toll includes 916 infants under the age of one, 4,365 children aged one to five, and 6,101 between six and twelve.
In one of the most harrowing incidents this week, Israeli forces reportedly struck a four-storey residential building in Jabalia. The Palestinian Civil Defence described the attack as a “massacre”. Spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said at least four people were killed and about 50 remain missing beneath the rubble. He noted that emergency workers are unable to continue rescue efforts due to the lack of heavy machinery.
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. Younis Al Khatib, president of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told reporters in Geneva that none of the aid entering through border crossings has reached civilians inside Gaza.
“I can prove that nobody has received (aid). No civilian has received anything yet,” Al Khatib said. “Most of these trucks are still in Kerem Shalom at the border, inspected, but not into Gaza.”
He warned that the limited deliveries were deepening the crisis rather than alleviating it. “I think that is an invitation for killing. These people are starving,” he said. “Today, we are hearing news about kids dying from starvation, and reports saying 90% of children are on the verge of starvation. It’s very difficult to hide the rush and the looting that will happen.”
Meanwhile, legal pressure on Israeli leadership continues to mount. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have urged judges to reject Israel’s request to withdraw arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
The warrants, issued on 21 November 2024, accuse both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.
In a 10-page submission published late Wednesday, ICC prosecutors dismissed Israel’s 9 May 2025 petition to halt the investigation, arguing that the appeal “has no legal basis and should be dismissed.”
The court’s refusal to relent underscores the growing international scrutiny surrounding Israel’s conduct in Gaza, as civilian casualties continue to climb and calls for accountability intensify.
[Photo: Civil defense teams and Palestinian residents conduct a search and rescue work among the rubble of the destroyed houses to find bodies after the Israeli indiscriminate attacks on a building in Al-Jurn neighborhood, Gaza City, Gaza on May 22, 2025. Photojournalist: Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini/AA]
