Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 31,819: ministry

A Palestinian mourns for victims after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, March 19, 2024. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

GAZA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 31,819, with 73,934 others wounded, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 93 Palestinians and wounded 142 others, the ministry said in a press statement.

It noted that some victims remained under the rubble amid heavy bombardment and a lack of civil defense and ambulance crews.

Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources told Xinhua that at least 14 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes in Rafah in southern Gaza, and six more were killed in Israeli air raids on the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the strip.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

People inspect a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, March 19, 2024. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People inspect a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, March 19, 2024. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People walk past a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, March 19, 2024. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

People are seen among the rubble of a destroyed building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 19, 2024. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People are seen among the rubble of a destroyed building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 19, 2024. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People search among the rubble of a destroyed building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 19, 2024. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People are seen among the rubble of a destroyed building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 19, 2024. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

A man searches among the rubble of a destroyed building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 19, 2024. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

A man inspects a destroyed building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 19, 2024. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

People stand among the rubble after an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People collect items from the rubble after an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People search among the rubble after an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People stand among the rubble after an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People conduct rescue work after an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People gather around the rubble after an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People are framed by the structure of a damaged building at Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People are seen in a damaged building at Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People are seen among the rubble at Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)

People search among the rubble at Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Xinhua)