Gaza Conflict Escalates: 40 Dead, 224 Injured in Latest Attacks.

Gaza : At least 40 Palestinians have been killed and 224 others injured in Israeli attacks in the besieged Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities.

These latest casualties bring the total number of Palestinian deaths to 37,834, with 86,858 injured since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in October 2023, health authorities reported on Saturday. Officials added that rescue teams are facing significant obstacles in reaching areas targeted by attacks due to fuel shortages and intense clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed factions, particularly in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza and the Shujaeya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said in a press release on Saturday that Israeli forces are continuing to strike “terrorist” targets in the Shujaeya area and that fighting is taking place both above and below ground.

In the past few hours, troops have eliminated many “saboteurs” during fighting and discovered a weapons cache in a school complex in the area, he added. According to Adraee, Israeli forces in Rafah have also eliminated several “saboteurs” and destroyed much “terrorist” infrastructure, including tunnel openings.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East highlighted the impact on crossings via social media platforms. A temporary U.S.-operated floating relief pier anchored off the coast of Gaza to facilitate humanitarian deliveries has been removed due to poor weather conditions, the Pentagon announced on Friday. This is the third interruption since mid-May. “Temporarily relocating the pier will prevent potential structural damage that could be caused by increased sea conditions,” Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, said during a briefing on Friday.

The pier is not the end-all solution to getting aid into Gaza, Singh noted, adding that land routes remain the most effective delivery method. Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Hamas rampage along the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and resulted in about 250 hostages being taken.