At least 31,553 Palestinians have been killed and 73,546 wounded since October 7 in Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip, the health ministry of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the enclave, said on Saturday.

About 63 Palestinians were killed and 112 were injured in the last 24 hours, the ministry statement added.

It is noted that despite the international reactions, Israel is expected to attack in the city of Rafa south of the enclave, where many Palestinians have taken refuge.

Malnutrition

One in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza is now facing acute malnutrition and famine is on the horizon, the main UN agency operating in the Palestinian enclave has said.

“Child malnutrition is spreading rapidly and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) said in a social media post.

More than five months into the Israeli air and ground campaign in Gaza, triggered by an October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, most of the enclave has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2.3 million residents are displaced and facing major humanitarian crisis.

Hospitals in Gaza they talk about children dying from malnutrition and dehydration.

The international food insecurity watchdog, IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification), is expected to release a report soon on the extent of the famine crisis in Gaza. In December, he had reported that there was a risk of famine in the viewing period until May.

For the IPC to declare a famine, should at least 20% of the population suffer from extreme food shortages, with one in three children facing acute malnutrition and two people in 10,000 dying every day from starvation or malnutrition and disease.