Gaza Death Toll Climbs to 65,200 as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

  The death toll in Gaza has risen to at least 65,174 since October 2023 amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign, the enclave’s Health Ministry said on Friday.

In its latest update, the ministry reported that 33 bodies were brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, alongside 146 new injuries. This brings the total number of people wounded in the conflict to 166,071.

The ministry said rescue operations remain severely hampered, with many victims still trapped under rubble and on streets inaccessible to emergency teams.

Humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate. Four more Palestinians, including a child, died of malnutrition within the last day, raising the number of famine-related deaths to 440, among them 147 children. Since famine was formally declared in northern Gaza earlier this year, at least 162 people — including 32 children — have succumbed to starvation, the ministry noted.

Authorities also reported that one person was killed and 17 others injured on Thursday while seeking humanitarian aid. Since May 27, 2,514 people have died and more than 18,431 have been wounded during aid distributions.

Israel has kept all Gaza border crossings closed since March 2, cutting off supplies to the territory’s 2.4 million residents. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has confirmed famine in the north and projected that conditions could spread to central and southern Gaza by the end of September.

The latest figures come as the Israeli military continues its operations following the collapse of a ceasefire and prisoner-exchange agreement in January. Since resuming attacks on March 18, Israeli forces have killed an additional 12,622 people and injured 54,030, according to the ministry.

Israel faces ongoing legal proceedings at international courts. The International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes charges. Separately, the International Court of Justice is hearing a genocide case against Israel in relation to the Gaza campaign.

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