Israel continues to attack a devastated Gaza, where 40,139 people have already died

The Israeli army has continued its attacks in the last 24 hours on a devastated Gaza Strip, where after ten months of offensive 40,139 people have already died, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health of the enclave, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.

In its latest report collecting data from Gaza hospitals, the ministry reported the deaths of 40 people in Israeli attacks over the past day.

In addition, 134 people were injured in the bombings, bringing the total number of wounded since the war began to 92,743.

In a statement, the Israeli army detailed its operations in the south and centre of the enclave, where it said it had attacked 45 “targets” of the Palestinian militants, including military infrastructure.

In Rafah, the southernmost town in Gaza, where Israeli forces have been carrying out an operation since early May that has forced the closure of the border crossing into Egypt (through which much of the humanitarian aid to the besieged territory previously entered), soldiers killed “dozens” of suspected militants in the Tal al Sultan neighbourhood.

Troops also dismantled several tunnels in the area and attacked a fighter who had earlier fired rockets at an Israeli community near Gaza without causing any casualties.

The Israeli military accused Hamas of firing several rockets from locations near two schools and a field hospital in the south of the enclave, an argument it has used in the past to justify attacks on infrastructure protected by international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, at least one Palestinian journalist, Ibrahim Mohreb, was killed yesterday in Khan Yunis (south) by Israeli soldiers, and another journalist, Salma Qadumi, 31, was shot in the back.

According to local sources, Israeli forces opened fire yesterday on a group of six journalists – including Mohreb and Qadumi – in the Hamad neighbourhood of Khan Yunis, where the army launched a new incursion two weeks ago.

According to data from the Gaza authorities (which do not distinguish between journalists, writers or influencers), at least 169 journalists have been killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

Yesterday, troops extended their operations to other parts of Khan Yunis and, for the first time, to the town of Deir al Balah (center), where thousands of Gazans have taken refuge since the offensive against Rafah began.

Alleging that the area has been used by Palestinian militants to launch rockets into Israeli territory, the army ordered the evacuation of the east of the town last Friday “to mitigate the damage to the civilian population and allow them to leave the combat zone.”

Deir al-Balah had not been the target of a large-scale ground offensive like those suffered by other major cities in the Palestinian enclave, and is also an important reception point for displaced people (90% of Gazans are displaced) as well as the centre of operations for numerous humanitarian organisations.