Palestinian death toll in Gaza nears 28,000: Ministry

Gaza: The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 27,947, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

In a press statement, the Ministry said on Friday that 67,459 Palestinians have been wounded in the coastal enclave since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October last year, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israeli forces killed 107 Palestinians and wounded 142 others in the past 24 hours, the Ministry added, noting that some victims remain under the rubble amid heavy bombardment and a lack of civil defence and ambulance crews.

Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses said Israeli aircraft launched a series of raids targetting several homes in the neighbourhoods of Gaza City, including al-Rimal, al-Sabra, al-Zaytoun, Tal al-Hawa, and Sheikh Ajlin.

The sources told Xinhua that ambulances were unable to reach the targetted locations due to Israel’s aerial and artillery bombardment and drone attacks on everything moving in those areas.

Meanwhile, at least eight Palestinians were killed in a bombing that targetted two homes in Rafah, the southernmost Gazan city, said medical sources.

According to paramedics, in Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza, a number of young men were killed as a result of Israel’s continued artillery shelling, while another young man and an elderly man were killed by Israeli forces’ bullets in the vicinity of Nasser Hospital in the city.

Also, several Palestinians were killed, and some others injured as a result of Israeli aircraft bombing a house in the city of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.