Jerusalem: Israeli strikes hit Gaza City and soldiers battled militants in southern Gaza on Monday after the US, its top ally, said it was time to scale back operations. Palestinian authorities said the death toll in the enclave passed 24,000.
South Africa has accused Israel of genocide in the war against Hamas, an allegation Israel has rejected. Although the full case is likely to take years to resolve, the United Nations’ top court could rule within weeks on South Africa’s request for an order of an immediate suspension of Israel’s offensive. It’s unclear if Israel would comply with any court order.
The October 07 Hamas attack from Gaza into southern Israel that triggered the war killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage by militants.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Monday that the bodies of 132 people killed in Israeli bombardment have been brought to the enclave’s hospitals in the past 24 hours.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defense group, 33 of those were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City.
Hospitals also received 252 wounded, the ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory said in its daily briefing.
The fatalities brought the death toll in the strip to 24,100 dead since the war began on October 7, the ministry said, adding that over 60,834 others were wounded.
The ministry, which does not distinguish in its count between fighters and noncombatants, says two-thirds of those killed in the war were women and children.
Israel says it has killed roughly 8,000 militants in the war.
