Israeli Forces Kill 62 Palestinians in Gaza Over 24 Hours

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that Israeli forces killed 62 Palestinians in Gaza and injured 220 over the previous 24-hour period, bringing its recorded death toll since last October to 42,289 and the number of wounded to 98,684.

The ministry’s numbers don’t account for Palestinians who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble, and bodies have been difficult for rescuers to reach in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces recently escalated attacks as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign. “There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry said.

Early Monday morning, an Israeli strike targeted Palestinians sheltering in tents inside the grounds of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza. The Israeli attack ignited fires in the camp, burning Palestinians alive. Hospital records show that at least four people were killed and 40 were injured, but many of the wounded are not expected to survive the burns.

Mohammad Tahir, a volunteer surgeon, told Al Jazeera that many of the victims had burns on 60% to 80% of their body. “Patients with significant high percentage burns – unfortunately, their fate is sealed. They won’t even make it to the ICU. They will die,” Tahir said.

“It’s a horror show here. Honestly, sometimes I feel like this is not real life, that this can go on, and this degree of suffering is allowed to happen in this world,” Tahir added.

Israel confirmed that it targeted the hospital and claimed, as usual, that it hit a Hamas “command and control center” but offered no evidence.

Just hours before the strike on the tent camp, Israel targeted a school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 22 people, including 15 children. Schools sheltering displaced Palestinians have become a frequent target of the Israeli military, and many children are often killed in the strikes.

The Biden administration continues to support the genocidal slaughter in Gaza even as it has become clear the Israeli government is not interested in ceasefire talks and is looking to annex the Strip. A senior Israeli Air Force official acknowledged last month that Israel’s slaughter in Gaza wouldn’t be possible without US support, saying if not for US military aid, Israel couldn’t sustain operations for more than a few months.