GAZA CITY, Palestine: At least 79 more people were killed in the past 24 hours as Israeli strikes continued across the Gaza Strip, pushing the overall death toll in the besieged Palestinian territory to more than 54,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
In its daily update, the ministry said the figures were compiled from hospitals across the territory, excluding the North Governorate, where access remains severely restricted.
This latest increase brings the total number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the Israeli offensive to 54,056, with 123,129 others wounded.
The ministry said that many victims remain trapped under rubble or are lying on streets unreachable by ambulance and civil defence teams.
Monday witnessed one of the deadliest single-day attacks in recent weeks, as Israeli airstrikes struck a school-turned-shelter in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City.
According to local health officials, the attack on the Fahmi al-Jarjawi School and a home resulted in over 50 deaths, including a father and his five children, and injured dozens more.
Fahmy Awad, head of emergency services at Gaza’s Health Ministry, confirmed the building was hit three times while people were asleep.
Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told AFP that the school had been sheltering “hundreds” of civilians, mostly women and children.
The Israeli military stated that the school was being used as a command and control centre by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to gather intelligence and plan attacks.
The Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster of the UN’s International Organization for Migration said nearly 180,000 people were displaced between 15 and 25 May due to Israeli attacks on displacement camps and shelters.
The cluster condemned the airstrikes, including the one on the Daraj school and recent attacks on tents in the al-Mawasi area, saying they violated international humanitarian law.
“These sites serve to protect displaced civilians,” the CCCM Cluster said in a statement, calling for an immediate end to such attacks and for unimpeded humanitarian access to be granted.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul voiced concern in an interview with WDR, saying that solidarity with Israel “must not be instrumentalised” amid ongoing military action that has left Gazans without access to food and medicine.
“We are now at a point where we have to think very carefully about what further steps to take,” he added.
ALSO READ: EU Chief Slams Israel’s ‘Abhorrent’ Strikes on Gaza Civilian Sites
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure, including schools, as “abhorrent”.
In a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, she reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defence but warned that “disproportionate use of force against civilians cannot be justified under humanitarian and international law.”
Pakistan also condemned the attack on the Gaza school. In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Office called it a “reprehensible attack” and demanded that Israel be held accountable for “heinous crimes.”
It further criticised provocations by Israeli settlers and officials at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning of regional escalation.
ALSO READ: Pakistan Condemns Israeli Provocative Actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Attack on Gaza School
Meanwhile, Germany and Finland have jointly urged for increased international pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said aid must reach its target without obstruction from either Israel or Hamas.
Efforts to deliver humanitarian aid have faced resistance on the ground. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli far-right activists blocked trucks carrying aid at the southern port of Ashdod.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that only six of its 22 health centres in Gaza remain operational due to “constant bombardment.”
Supplies are running critically low, with 37 medical points functioning at limited capacity.
Meanwhile, UNRWA said Gaza’s 2 million residents are being treated like “pinballs,” forced to flee repeatedly in search of safety that “does not exist.”
The agency warned that nearly 20 months of war have left the population exhausted, grieving, and traumatised. “This hardship and uncertainty must end,” it said.
