Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that Israeli forces have killed at least 339 Palestinians and have wounded 871 since October 11 as Israel continues to violate the US-backed ceasefire deal.
The ministry said that over the previous 24-hour period, at least 21 Palestinians were killed and 83 were injured, as the IDF unleashed heavy attacks on Saturday. Health officials speaking to The Associated Press reported a higher death toll for Saturday, saying 24 people were killed and 54 were wounded, with children among the casualties.
The UN said on Friday, before the latest heavy bombardment, that Israel has killed at least 67 children in Gaza since the ceasefire was supposed to go into effect. “Too many children have already paid the highest price, too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it (war) would stop and we would protect them,” said Ricardo Pires, spokesman for the UN’s children’s relief agency, UNICEF.
Israel justified its bombardment on Saturday by claiming its troops in the Israeli-occupied side of Gaza came under attack, but it provided no evidence, and there were no Israeli casualties in the alleged incident. In response, Hamas said Israel was “fabricating pretexts” and called on the US to ensure Israel follows the ceasefire.
“We call upon the mediators to intervene urgently and exert pressure to immediately halt these violations,” Hamas said, according to Al Jazeera. “We also demand that the US administration fulfil its commitments and compel [Israel] to implement its obligations, and to confront its attempts to undermine the ceasefire in Gaza.”
Just a few days earlier, Israel launched a heavy bombardment from Wednesday into Thursday, killing at least 32 Palestinians, including 12 children and eight women. Israel launched the strikes after alleging its forces were fired at, but it provided no evidence and didn’t allege there were casualties.
Gaza’s Government Media Office on Saturday said that Israel had violated the ceasefire 497 times in 44 days. “We condemn in the strongest terms the continued serious and systematic violations of the ceasefire agreement by the Israeli occupation authorities,” the office said.
