DEIR AL-BALAH
\nOver 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry said Tuesday.
\nThe ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said the death toll has climbed to to 60,034, with another 145,870 people wounded since Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
\nWATCH: Trump urges Israel to allow food into Gaza as he sees \u2018real starvation\u2019 there
\nIt did not say how many were civilians or militants, but has said women and children make up around half the dead.
\nThe ministry is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties.
\nIsrael\u2019s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts warning of famine.
\nAt least 77 Palestinians killed in past day
\nAs international organizations warn of a \u201cworst-case scenario of famine,\u201d Israel continued to strike the Gaza Strip, killing at least 77 Palestinians in the past day, according to local hospitals. More than half were killed while attempting to access aid, hospitals said, and includes a rising toll from a deadly incident on Monday as people attempted to access aid from a truck convoy passing through the southern Gaza Strip.
\nLocal hospitals said they received the bodies of an additional 33 people who were killed by gunfire around an aid convoy in southern Gaza on Monday, bringing the total from the single incident to 58. The Israeli military did not comment on the shooting.
\nIsrael says it only targets militants and takes extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas military infrastructure over the past day including rocket launchers, weapons storage facilities and tunnels.
\nAn additional 14 Palestinians were killed while attempting to access aid near the American and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund site in central Gaza, according to local hospitals.
\nNeither GHF nor the Israeli military commented on the shooting. Israel\u2019s military has said in the past it only fires warning shots if troops feel threatened and GHF has said their contractors haven\u2019t fired at civilians.
\nAir strikes also targeted tents hosting displaced people in the central city of Nuseirat, killing 30 people, including 12 children and 14 women, according to Al-Awda hospital.
\nThe strikes come as international organizations continue to warn about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has teetered on the brink of famine for two years. Recent developments have \u201cdramatically worsened\u201d the situation, according to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC.<\/p>\n
Israel rejects claims of \u2018starvation policies\u2019
\nIsraeli foreign minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday rejected claims of \u201cstarvation policies\u201d in Gaza and said the focus on starvation is a \u201cdistorted campaign of international pressure.\u201d
\nIsrael\u2019s leader claims no one in Gaza is starving. Data and witnesses disagree
\n\u201cThis pressure is directly sabotaging the chances for a ceasefire and hostage deal, it is only pushing towards military escalation by hardening Hamas\u2019s stance,\u201d he said.
\nThe U.S. and Israel have both recalled their negotiating teams over the past week as negotiations seem to have stalled.
\nHamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the attack that sparked the war, and abducted another 251. They are still holding 50 captives, around 20 believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals.
\nThe war took a major turn in early March when Israel imposed a complete 2 \u00bd month blockade, barring the entry of all food, medicine, fuel and other goods. Weeks later, Israel ended a ceasefire with a surprise bombardment and began seizing large areas of Gaza, measures it said were aimed at pressuring Hamas to release more hostages.
\nAt least 8,867 Palestinians have been killed since then.
\nIsrael eased the blockade in May, but U.N. agencies say it hasn\u2019t allowed nearly enough aid to enter and that they have struggled to deliver it because of Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order. An alternative Israeli-backed system run by an American contractor has been marred by violence and controversy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DEIR AL-BALAH Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, said the death toll has climbed to to 60,034, with another 145,870 people wounded since Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023, attack. WATCH: Trump urges Israel to allow food into Gaza as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-493574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n