Jerusalem, Jan 2 (EFE).- The number of casualties from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip increased to 22,185 dead and 57,035 wounded since the outbreak of war against Islamist group Hamas on Oct. 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported Tuesday.
The Hamas-controlled ministry said in a statement that during the last 24 hours, the Israeli forces committed 15 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, claiming the lives of 207 martyrs and wounding 338 people.
The war between Israel and Hamas entered its 88th day without a ceasefire in sight despite growing international concern for the victims and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
From north to south of the Gaza Strip there were a series of Israeli attacks using fighter jets, drones and artillery fire, which caused immense damage, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa.
In the central city of Deir al Balah, at least 15 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed Tuesday by shelling, while in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp several civilians were killed and others were wounded in an Israeli attack on a house, the agency said.
At least nine people were reportedly killed in Deir al Balah on Monday.
Another nearby refugee camp, al-Maghazi, came under artillery fire as Israeli naval forces also got involved.
In the south, in Khan Yunis – where Israel believes senior Hamas leaders are hiding -, Israeli airstrikes resulted in civilian casualties, including children and women, the agency added.
Meanwhile, in the north of the enclave, where the Israeli army has already taken control of most areas, intense clashes broke out as Israeli tanks advanced, Wafa said.
The war broke out on Oct. 7 following a massive Hamas attack on Israel that included the firing of rockets and the simultaneous infiltration of some 3,000 militiamen who killed some 1,200 people and took 250 as hostages.
Since then, the Israeli forces have launched a strong air, land and sea offensive against the Palestinian enclave, where most of the dead and wounded are children and women, while thousands are missing under the rubble.
Claiming that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure for its military operations, Israel has bombed homes, schools, hospitals, temples, archaeological sites, treatment plants and water supplies, as well as telecommunications and power supply facilities.
The war has also left some 1.9 million people displaced in Gaza – some 85 percent of the population -, who face a humanitarian crisis due to the collapse of hospitals, the outbreak of epidemics and shortages of drinking water, food, medicine, electricity and fuel. EFE
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