Death toll rises to 174 from Israeli attacks on Gaza

23 Palestinians, including 10 women and 8 children, lost their lives in attacks carried out by Israel since midnight

2021-05-16 13:23:02

JERUSALEM

The death toll from Israeli attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip has risen to 174, including 29 women and 47 children on Sunday, according to official and Anadolu Agency figures.

Despite international outrage over its deadly raids, Israel continued its attacks on Gaza overnight Saturday into Sunday.

In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that 23 Palestinians, including 10 women and eight children, lost their lives in attacks carried out by Israel since midnight.

The number of people injured in the Israeli attacks also rose to 1,200.

Meanwhile, Enver Ataullah, the ministry's Arab and Turkish relations officer, told Anadolu Agency that the situation in the region is growing worse.

Ataullah said the attacks that have been carried out since midnight caused great destruction in Gaza and their continued heavy death toll has left no room in the morgues.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem and at the Al-Aqsa Mosque since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as Israeli forces and settlers assaulted Palestinians.

The tensions spread from East Jerusalem to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate against Israeli assaults on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah if they were not halted.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.