Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 40,265: health authorities

GAZA - The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,265, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 42 people and wounded 163 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,265 and injuries to 93,144 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, it added.

There are still a number of victims trapped under the rubble and scattered on roads, as ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them, it said.

"Critical water wells and sanitation infrastructure have been repeatedly damaged throughout the war," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on social media platform X on Thursday.

"With overcrowding, lack of hygiene and unbearable heat, access to clean water continues to be a struggle in the Gaza Strip," it added.

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