GAZA: Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday that about 35,173 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of war between Hamas and Israel.
In a statement, it added that the toll includes around 82 deaths over the last 24 hours. It added that more than 79,061 people have been injured in Gaza since October 7.
The development comes as a UN staff member has been killed in an attack in Rafah, after the vehicle they were travelling in came under attack. According to local media, the Israeli army is believed to have conducted the strike, but it is yet to confirm whether its troops were responsible for the killing.
The United Nations has also confirmed that this is their first international staff casualty in the Gaza war since Israel’s war on Gaza started. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the strike on UN’s staff. The UN Chief called for complete investigation over the killing.
Earlier, in a statement, the chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has stated that aid workers “are not and should never be attacked”.
In a statement via social media, Philippe Lazzarini said that many colleagues working for the United Nations have been killed in the Gaza Strip. The official said that around 188 members of UNRWA have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
According to Oxfam’s assessments from the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) suggest that Israeli offensive since Oct. 7 have caused damage worth around $210m to Gaza’s water and sanitation systems. It further said that there is no electricity to operate the water wells, plants and the remaining wastewater treatment plants and the manure is overflowing.
