Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 33,634: Ministry

At least three Palestinian journalists were injured in an Israeli shelling targeting them at the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Gaza: The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said that the Palestinian death toll has risen to 33,634 as a result of the ongoing Israeli attacks on the enclave.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 89 Palestinians and wounded 120 others, bringing the total death toll to 33,634 and injuries to 76,214 since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Ministry said on Friday in a statement.

The bodies of some victims remained buried under the rubble and scattered on the roads as the Israeli army prevented ambulance and civil defence crews from reaching them, according to the statement as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

Meanwhile, at least three Palestinians were killed on Friday in confrontations with Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, Palestinian medical sources said.

Hamas confirmed one of those killed was a local commander of the movement.

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At least three Palestinian journalists were injured in an Israeli shelling targeting them at the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Palestinian sources said.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua news agency on Friday that the Israeli artillery fired a shell towards a group of journalists while they were covering events in the Nusseirat camp.

On Thursday, the Israeli army announced the start of a surprise military operation on the outskirts of the Nusseirat camp, Xinhua news agency reported.

Medical sources told Xinhua news agency that the three injured journalists arrived at the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. One of them suffered an amputation of his right foot and scattered shrapnel wounds on his body, while the other two sustained moderate injuries.

There was no comment from the Israeli army on the incident.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run government media office said in a statement that the Israeli army targeted the three journalists while they were wearing vests with clear “Press” markings.

The statement considered it “a crime of targeting media crews as part of a series of severe violations against Palestinian journalists”.

The statement condemned the Israeli army’s targeting of media crews as “deliberate and intentional in a clear message to intimidate and threaten them in an attempt to silence the truth”.

The International Federation of Journalists was called upon to “condemn this crime and pursue the occupation in international forums and courts for its crimes against journalists and media professionals”.

It is not the first time that the Israeli army has targeted journalists while they were covering events during the ongoing war since October 7 last year.

Nearly 140 journalists have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip over the past six months, according to data from the Gaza government media office.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.