The Gaza death toll has passed 50,600 as Israeli regime forces killed 86 more Palestinians with over 115,000 injured since October 2023, according to the Health Ministry.
On Friday, the ministry delivered a grim tally claiming that Israeli airstrikes have now claimed 50,609 lives in what many call a genocidal war, a relentless campaign that began in October 2023.
A ministry statement said that 287 more injured people were transferred to hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of injuries to 115,063 in the Israeli onslaught.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
The terror escalated on March 18, when the Israeli army unleashed a surprise aerial onslaught, obliterating 1,249 lives and wounding 3,022 others.
This came despite a fragile ceasefire and prisoner swap with Palestinian armed group Hamas, painstakingly brokered in January.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Starving the strip
Israel is using food and humanitarian aid as weapons in Gaza in its ongoing war on the enclave, said the chief of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
On Thursday, the Commissioner general of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini voiced concern over the deteriorating situation in Gaza, where Israel continues its blockade and aggressive actions against the population.
“Hunger & desperation spread as food & relief assistance are being weaponised,” Lazzarini said in a statement.
“It’s been over a month of total siege. The Israeli authorities continue to ban the entry of basics: food, medicine, fuel: a collective punishment,” he added.
He further said that “it’s a symptom of a breakdown of civil order” due to the ongoing siege.
The agency chief emphasised that Palestinians in Gaza are “exhausted as they continue to be locked up in a tiny piece of land,” emphasising that “aid must be allowed in and the siege must be lifted.”
Since March 2025, Israel has closed Gaza’s border crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical supplies, leading to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, as confirmed by local government and human rights reports.
International human rights and UN organisations have repeatedly warned about the dire consequences of Israel tightening the blockade, pushing the population into severe hunger and deprivation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to escalate attacks on Gaza as efforts are underway to implement US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians from the enclave.
