(MENAFN) On Wednesday, the Gaza Strip has tragically witnessed a rising death toll due to Israeli airstrikes and raids since October 7, with an estimated count of approximately 3,478 fatalities and more than 12,000 reported injuries, as reported by Gaza's Health Ministry.
Ashraf Al-Qedra, ministry representative, declared the numbers at a press meeting, emphasizing the “grave consequences of the ongoing Israeli aggression.”
Al-Qedra pointed out that “the series of massacres committed by the Israeli occupation constitute an act of ethnic cleansing and pose a threat to Palestinian existence.”
“The total casualties from the Israeli aggression have reached 3,478 deaths and 12,065 injuries with varying degrees of severity,” he also mentioned, highlighting that 70 percent of the causalities are children, women, as well as the elderly.
He further stated: “The Israeli occupation's massacres of families have impacted 433 families, with 2,421 killed being taken to hospitals, and hundreds of them still trapped under the rubble.”
The numbers came a day following over 471 people were murdered in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, as stated by Palestinian spokespersons in the besieged enclave. Nevertheless, Israel has vehemently denied any involvement or responsibility for the airstrike.
It is unknown if Wednesday’s numbers involve the hospital shelling.
The war started on October 7 when Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged sudden strike that contained a barrage of rocket hurls and invasions into Israel by land, sea, as well as air. It declared the infiltration was in response for the invasion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and escalating ferocity by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then initiated Operation Swords of Iron towards Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip.
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