Displaced Palestinians are pictured at a shelter in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 3, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,788, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday. (Photo by Marwan Dawood/Xinhua)
GAZA, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,788, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 99 people and wounded 169 others, bringing the total death toll to 41,788 and injuries to 96,794 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, it added.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said on the social media platform X on Thursday that in the past two days alone, three UNRWA schools were hit in Gaza and at least 21 people were reportedly killed.
"The schools were home for more than 20,000 displaced people. Some schools were hit more than once since the war began," Lazzarini said, noting that more than 140 UNRWA schools have come under attack since Oct. 7, 2023.
"Schools used to be a safe haven for learning, they have now turned into hell for far too many. Schools cannot be used for any military purposes by anyone. Schools are not a target. These are some of the basic rules of war blatantly disregarded," Lazzarini added.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. ■
Displaced Palestinians are pictured at a shelter in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 3, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,788, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday. (Photo by Marwan Dawood/Xinhua)
A displaced Palestinian is pictured at a shelter in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 3, 2024. The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,788, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday. (Photo by Marwan Dawood/Xinhua)
