Gaza, Jun 30 (IANS): At least 40 Palestinians were killed and 224 others injured in Israeli attacks across the besieged Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to health authorities controlled by Hamas.
The latest casualties bring the total Palestinian death toll to 37,834, with 86,858 injuries reported since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023, the health authorities said on Saturday.
Officials added that rescue teams faced significant obstacles in reaching areas targeted by attacks due to fuel shortages and intense clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed factions, particularly in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza and the Shujaeya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, Xinhua news agency reported.
Avichay Adraee, an Israeli military spokesperson, said in a press statement on Saturday that the Israeli forces are continuing the attack on "terrorist" targets in the Shujaeya area, fighting simultaneously above and below ground.
During the past hours, the forces eliminated many "saboteurs" in clashes, and the troops found a weapons depot inside a school complex in the area, he added.
In Rafah, the Israeli forces eliminated several "saboteurs" and destroyed many "terrorist" infrastructure, including tunnel openings, according to Adraee.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East highlighted on social media platform X that hundreds of thousands of Gazans continue to endure severe shortages of shelter, food, medicine, and clean water, exacerbated by restricted access through border crossings.
A temporary floating aid pier operated by the US, anchored off the coast of Gaza to facilitate humanitarian deliveries, has been removed due to adverse weather conditions, the Pentagon announced on Friday. This marks the third interruption since mid-May.
"Temporarily relocating the pier will prevent potential structural damage that could be caused by the heightened sea state," said Sabrina Singh, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary, during a briefing on Friday.
The pier is not an end-all solution to getting aid into Gaza, Singh said, adding that land routes are the most effective delivery method.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip 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.