The Israeli army has killed over 1,200 Palestinians in its siege of northern Gaza that started nearly four weeks ago, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said on Thursday.
“The Israeli army continues to commit massacres and target shelters and civilians in Beit Lahia, resulting in casualties amidst a severely strained healthcare system,” Munir al-Bursh, director general of the ministry, told Anadolu.
He stressed that “the Israeli occupation is committing murder and destruction due to the absence of oversight or accountability to stop its crimes.”
The official said the Israeli army “is preventing the entry of medical supplies into northern Gaza and imposing a blockade on the Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda, and Indonesian hospitals in the northern enclave.”
The Israeli army has sustained a deadly offensive in northern Gaza since Oct. 5, claiming it aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
Overall, Israeli forces have killed more than 43,000 people since a cross-border offensive by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.