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The Israeli army killed 81 more Palestinians in attacks in the Gaza Strip yesterday, taking the overall death toll to 38 794 since last October, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Wednesday.
A ministry statement added that some 89 166 other people have been injured in the assault.
“Israeli forces killed 81 people and injured 198 others in two ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
Palestinian health authorities estimate that more than 10 000 people are still missing under the rubble of destroyed homes across the Gaza Strip.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing fierce criticism for dismissing the danger faced by those still held in captivity in Gaza.
Netanyahu reportedly said during a cabinet meeting there’s no reason to stress as “the kidnapped are suffering, but they are not dying”.
Families of the abducted demanded the Prime Minister to “immediately explain” his remarks.
The comments “are not only deeply hurtful to the hostages’ families but also factually inaccurate and dangerously irresponsible”, said a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
“The grim reality is undeniable: hostages have already been murdered in captivity. More hostages may be losing their lives at this very moment”, it added.
It is not clear how many captives held in the Strip are still alive.
According to Israeli media, about 120 are believed to be there with the Israeli army saying at least 42 are dead.
Palestinian media report Israeli forces have released journalist Imad Abu Awad from the Nafha desert prison in the Negev after nine months of incarceration.
At least 13 Palestinian detainees were also at the Kissufim checkpoint into central Gaza.
With thousands of Palestinians added to those already detained since the war on Gaza began, Israel’s prisons are reportedly full.
Al-Shifa Hospital Director Muhammad Abu Salmiya – freed at the beginning of this month after more than seven months of detention – said detainees endure “daily physical and psychological humiliation”. – Anadolu Ajansi/ Al Jazeera
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