GAZA: The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Wednesday reported that the death toll from ongoing relentless Israeli military bombardment has surpassed 24,700 mostly women and children, since October 7.
The ministry in the statement said at least 210 people have been killed and 386 injured in the past 24 hours.
It further said that 61,830 people have also been injured in the Palestinian territory during the war.
The ministry went on to say, heavy Israeli bombardment overnight killed at least 125 people, against the backdrop of talks in Cairo aimed at reaching a cease-fire.
Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said Israeli forces had issued fresh evacuation orders for a section of Khan Younis that houses an estimated half a million residents and displaced people.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that Gaza residents are facing catastrophic food insecurity.
War on Gaza
On the other hand, South Africa which has moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israeli bombing of Gaza expects the court would give its ruling this Friday on whether it will grant emergency measures to stop Israel’s war in Gaza.
In the initial ruling, the ICJ will not deal with the main question of whether Israel is guilty of committing genocide.
In another development, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council that the entire population of the Gaza Strip is enduring destruction at a scale and speed without matching in recent history. The UN chief said that nothing can justify the collective punishment of Palestinians and denounced Israel’s opposition to creation of a Palestinian state.
Similarly, a top Pakistani diplomat has called for “concrete steps” by the United Nations to halt the Israeli slaughter of the people in the Gaza Strip, as he underlined that a lasting end to the Israeli-Palestinian war can only come through a two-state solution.
Pakistan’s permanent representatives at UN, Ambassador Munir Akram told the UNSC, “It is now time for the UNSC for the entire membership of the UN, to consider step by which to reverse this wanton rejection of peace.”
According to the UN figures, 1.9 million people in Gaza, or nearly 85 percent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced by the end of 2023.
The figures include Palestinian people who have been displaced multiple times, as families are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety.
The Israeli raids have almost destroyed entire neighborhoods in northern Gaza. Israeli ground troops have been facing heavy resistance from Hamas fighters in the area.
