Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 38,153: health authorities

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 38,153, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Sunday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 55 people and wounded 123 others, bringing the total death toll to 38,153 and injuries to 87,828 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, it added.

A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and the Israeli army is preventing ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them, the statement noted.

Nine months into the war in Gaza, families continued to face forced displacement, massive destruction and constant fear, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on social media platform X on Sunday.

"Essential supplies are lacking, the (summer) heat is unbearable, (and) diseases are spreading," the UNRWA added.

In a statement on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its operational activities continued throughout the Gaza Strip.

Over the past day in the area of Shejaiya in northern Gaza, IDF troops "eliminated several terrorists, dismantled terror infrastructure sites, and located numerous weapons," it said, adding that its troops are continuing a targeted, intelligence-based operational activity in the Rafah area in southern Gaza.

It noted that the troops also conducted an operation upon intelligence against the Khan Younis municipality building, which it said was used by Hamas for terrorist activities.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were taken hostage.