DayofPal– The death toll in Gaza has exceeded 60,000 after 662 days of war, according to the Gaza’s Ministry of Health, marking one of the deadliest and most protracted modern wars in recent history.
As of Tuesday, Israeli attacks killed at least 60,034 Palestinians since October 2023, including 18,592 children, 9,782 women, and 4,412 elderly civilians.
These three groups together account for 55 percent of the total fatalities, a figure officials say underscores the systematic targeting of civilians throughout the war.
“That’s one in every 36 people in Gaza,” Al Jazeera reported. “More than 90 people have died on average every day since the war began.”
The grim milestone coincides with a deepening humanitarian catastrophe, as international monitors warn that a full-scale famine is unfolding in the besieged enclave.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global authority on hunger crises, reported this week that Gaza is now facing a “worst-case scenario of famine” driven by mass displacement, a total collapse of public services, and months of restricted humanitarian access.
“Amid relentless war, mass displacement, severely restricted humanitarian access, and the collapse of essential services, including healthcare, the crisis has reached an alarming and deadly turning point,” the IPC assessment concluded.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Tuesday that famine is not merely looming in Gaza, it has already begun.
“The trickle of aid must become an ocean,” Guterres said. “Food, water, medicine, and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction. This nightmare must end.”
Humanitarian officials say Israel has maintained an effective blockade on aid into Gaza for nearly five months. As a result, at least 147 people, including 88 children and infants, have died from hunger or malnutrition-related complications.
The Ministry of Health and aid organizations continue to warn that these figures likely undercount the full toll, as many areas remain inaccessible due to ongoing hostilities and infrastructure collapse.
With over 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed, and medical services in ruins, the strip’s 2.2 million residents face an increasingly uninhabitable environment.
Israel maintains that its military campaign is aimed at dismantling Hamas. However, growing numbers of international legal experts and human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of committing war crimes, including the deliberate targeting of civilians and the use of starvation as a method of warfare, a violation of international humanitarian law.
Calls for a ceasefire and an end to the blockade have intensified globally, including demands from humanitarian organizations, U.N. agencies, and political leaders.
Yet, the war shows few signs of abating, even as Gaza’s population continues to endure the compounded trauma of war, displacement, and starvation.
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