704 dead in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in past day, Hamas-run health ministry says

The Hamas-run health ministry said that at least 704 people died in the past day in the Gaza Strip as a result of airstrikes launched by Israel’s armed forces. 

Health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra provided the update Tuesday and noted it was a massive increase in the death toll two weeks into Israel’s counterattack against Hamas for its massacre in Israel earlier this month.  

Al-Qidra said the total death toll in Gaza now stands at 5,791 residents, including 2,360 children, 1,292 women, and 295 senior citizens, with 16,297 citizens also suffering injuries from the aerial attacks. 

The spokesperson also said health authorities received 1,550 reports of missing people, including 870 children, saying that residents who are still reported missing might be under the rubble of collapsed building in the territory. 

Gaza is also facing a worsening humanitarian crisis with Israel imposing a siege on the coastal strip and only allowing a trickly of aid through the Rafah crossing on Gaza’s border with Egypt. The exclave is also facing a major shortage of medical supplies, with some doctors reportedly being forced to carry out surgeries without pain killers.

“We call on the Arab Republic of Egypt to open the Rafah land crossing and ensure the flow of medical aid and fuel and the exit of the wounded and sick,” Al-Qidra said in the statement.

“We call on all countries of the world to send specialized medical delegations to rescue those wounded in the Israeli aggression,” the statement added. “Medical teams find it extremely difficult to deal with burn injuries and the increasing skin melting of those wounded in the Israeli aggression.”

It’s been two weeks since Hamas, which the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization, launched an attack on Israel that left 1,400 people dead in border villages and at a music festival.

In response, Israel has launched a barrage of airstrikes on Gaza, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) saying it launched more than 400 strikes Monday on the territory, a slight increase from about 320 the previous day.