Palestinian death toll in Gaza exceeds 40,000 — health authorities

GAZA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 40,000, Gaza-based health authorities said on Thursday.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 40 people and wounded 107 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,005 and injuries to 92,401 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, the health authorities said in a statement.
There are still many victims under the rubble and on the roads, with ambulance and civil defense crews unable to reach them, it added.
It took only five and a half months for the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip to rise from 30,000 to 40,000.
Large-scale Israeli attacks continued over the past month. According to Gaza health authorities, an Israeli bombing of a field hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on July 27 resulted in at least 30 Palestinians killed and over 100 injured. On Aug. 10, another Israeli bombing targeted a school in Gaza City, killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring dozens more, according to the authorities.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Thursday that it is continuing operational activity in the Gaza Strip, “eliminating terrorists and dismantling terrorist infrastructure.”
Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force dismantled more than 30 Hamas infrastructure sites, including structures rigged with explosives, underground infrastructure, and weapons storage facilities, the IDF added.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage. ■