Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that another 33 Palestinians were killed by Israel’s assault on Gaza in the previous 24-hour period, bringing the recorded death toll to 40,819.
One of the Israeli strikes hit a college building that was sheltering displaced civilians in Gaza City, killing seven. “The targeted area was crowded with residents and displaced people,” an eyewitness told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said nine Palestinians were killed by an Israeli bombing on a residential building near a municipal park in Gaza City. At least two children and one woman were among the dead. The Civil Defense also reported Israeli artillery and drone attacks in southern Gaza.
The true death toll in Gaza is unclear since the Health Ministry’s numbers don’t include the 10,000 people who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble. It’s also unclear how many Palestinians have died due to indirect causes.
A letter written by a group of experts recently published in the British medical journal The Lancet estimated the total number of deaths in Gaza, including those killed by the Israeli military and indirect causes, could reach 186,000. They reached the numbers by using the death toll from the end of June, which was 37,396.
A group of American doctors and nurses who volunteered in Gaza wrote a letter to President Biden last month, and they estimated that the actual death toll has already exceeded 92,000, or 4.2% of the population. The American medical professionals also detailed the horrific violence being committed by Israeli soldiers against children.
