Gaza records highest death toll in six months as Israel intensifies bombing
Israeli forces killed at least 119 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in May, the highest monthly death toll recorded this year, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The rising toll comes as Israel intensifies its bombardment of the enclave, seven months into the US-mediated ceasefire intended to end the genocide since October 2023.
At least 19 children and 10 women were among those killed in May, the ministry said on Tuesday.
During the past 24 hours alone, 11 new Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement were recorded, resulting in Palestinian deaths and injuries, according to local media.
Local news outlets reported heavy gunfire from Israeli military vehicles targeting eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Wednesday morning.
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Elsewhere, the Israeli army attacked eastern areas of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Since October, Israel has committed more than 3,000 violations across Gaza, ranging from shelling, air strikes, the direct targeting of civilians, the destruction of entire residential areas, and continued incursions into populated neighbourhoods, according to Gaza's Government Media Office.
As a result, more than 933 people have been killed and a further 2,868 wounded. At least 82 people have also been abducted by Israeli forces during the same period.
This brings the overall death toll since October 2023 to 72,942, with thousands more reported missing and presumed dead beneath the rubble.
Hamas condemns Israeli violations
As Israel escalates its assaults on Gaza, Hamas has issued several statements condemning what it described as continued Israeli "crimes and violations".
In a pre-recorded speech on Tuesday, the movement's military spokesperson, Abu Obeida, condemned the "daily killing of our people and our resistance fighters", pointing to the assassinations of several high-profile leaders over the past month.
"If our cowardly enemy imagines that it can weaken us by assassinating our leaders, then their blood is the fuel that propels our ship through difficulties and proof of the truth of our cause, our leadership, our unity with our people, and our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for them," he said.
In a separate statement, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem rejected allegations that the movement was unwilling to relinquish control of Gaza, describing them as "misleading lies aimed at providing cover for the occupation to continue its aggression".
Qassem blamed Israel and Nickolay Mladenov, director-general of the American "Board of Peace", for blocking a technocratic committee from entering Gaza and taking over the administration of the territory from Hamas.
Since the ceasefire aimed at ending the genocide in Gaza came into effect in October, progress towards the second phase of the agreement has been hampered by continued Israeli attacks on the besieged territory.
Israel has restricted the flow of aid, launched attacks across Gaza and continued to seize additional territory, actions that critics say violate the terms of the truce agreement.
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