Israeli forces kill three in Gaza as settlers attack in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have killed at least three people in Gaza in the last 24 hours, according to Palestinian officials, as Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank ramped up attacks on Palestinian villages.
As Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed on Tuesday the killings in the last 24 hours, the enclave’s Civil Defence agency said in a statement on Telegram that it had transferred the bodies of 35 unidentified Palestinians to al-Shifa Hospital, where efforts will be made to confirm their identities.
The death toll of Israel’s war on Gaza has officially topped 69,000, with at least 69,182 Palestinians killed and 170,694 wounded since October 2023. Israeli forces have killed at least 245 Palestinians since the US-brokered ceasefire went into effect on October 10.
A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, and about 200 were taken captive.
It is estimated that thousands of missing people’s bodies are still buried under rubble across Gaza after two years of Israel’s genocidal war.
“Getting closure remains a distant prospect for families in Gaza, who have been visiting Nasser Hospital, morgues and identification rooms in search of their loved ones, trying to recognise their remains through fragments, personal belongings, scars, pieces of clothing or injuries,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from central Gaza.
“Forensic experts are facing severe challenges, including the decomposition of bodies and a shortage of DNA testing equipment. This has left families in a state of deep uncertainty, especially mothers who continue to return to Gaza’s hospitals hoping to find their loved ones, only to go back to their shelters each time with broken hearts.”
According to an analysis by Al Jazeera, Israel has attacked Gaza on 25 out of the past 31 days of the ceasefire, meaning there were only six days during which no violent attacks, deaths or injuries were reported.
Despite continuing attacks, the US insists that the ceasefire is still holding.
As they wait on aid, Palestinians in Gaza are forced to live without electricity, with many relying on flashlights and spending nights in complete darkness.
The war has destroyed more than 80 percent of Gaza’s electricity networks.
“For the past two years, no electricity has reached the Gaza Strip,” said Mohammed Thabet, an official with Gaza’s electricity company.
“The amount of electricity reaching Gaza is zero,” he said.
Attacks in occupied West Bank
Separately, in the occupied West Bank, dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked a pair of Palestinian villages on Tuesday, setting fire to vehicles and other property, leaving four Palestinians wounded.
In Tuesday’s incidents, settlers attacked the villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, setting fire to four dairy trucks, farmland, tin shacks and tents belonging to a Bedouin community.
Palestinian official Muayyad Shaaban said the attacks were part of a campaign to drive Palestinians from their land and accused Israel of giving the settlers protection and immunity.
