Death toll rises to more than 46,500 since the start of the Israeli offensive in Gaza

MADRID Jan. 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –

More than 46,500 people have died in the Gaza Strip due to the military offensive launched by Israel in response to the attacks of October 7, 2023, according to the new balance published this Saturday by the Gaza Ministry of Health, which puts the number of victims at 32. fatalities and 193 injuries recorded in the last 24 hours.

Specifically, the Ministry, linked to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, estimates that 46,537 people have died and 109,571 have been injured. These same authorities, however, have warned that there may be victims trapped in the rubble or in areas that remain inaccessible.

This death toll includes 499 new fatalities whose data have been approved for inclusion in the statistics by the judicial commission in charge of reviewing reports of missing persons, explains the Ministry.

The number of deaths published by the Ministry is, in any case, much lower than that indicated in a study published by the magazine ‘The Lancet’, which estimates that 64,620 have died from “traumatic injuries” in the Palestinian enclave since October 7. from 2023 to June 30, 2024.

The Israeli Armed Forces launched the offensive in retaliation for attacks that left some 1,200 dead and 250 kidnapped on Israeli soil and opened a new stage of tensions in the Middle East. Despite international efforts, Hamas and Israel have not agreed to a ceasefire since the previous agreement failed more than a year ago.