The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 54,249, with 123,492 others injured, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in early October 2023, according to a statement released on Thursday by Gaza-based health authorities.
The statement said that since Israel resumed intensive airstrikes on March 18, following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire, at least 3,986 Palestinians have been killed and 11,451 injured.
In the past 24 hours alone, 67 Palestinians have been killed and 179 others injured in Israeli military operations, according to Gaza's civil defense and health authorities.
At least 33 Palestinians were killed on Thursday in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City and central Gaza, according to Palestinian sources.
An Israeli drone strike on Thursday afternoon targeted a group of people at al-Saraya Junction, one of the busiest intersections in central Gaza City, killing at least 10 Palestinians and injured dozens of others, according to local medical sources and eyewitnesses.
Hamas said in a press statement that the Israeli airstrike targeted several of its members who were confronting a group of thieves, resulting in the deaths of several police officers and passersby.
Also on Thursday, Israeli warplanes fired at least two missiles at a residential home belonging to the Al-Qarnawi family east of the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, destroying the house with its residents inside and causing significant damage to neighboring houses.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, stated that at least 23 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed and several others injured in the airstrike.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that over the past day it had struck military structures, observation and sniper posts, tunnels, and infrastructure sites, among other targets across the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 54,249
