Hamas authorities report 481 dead in Gaza Strip in 24 hours

Geneva, Oct. 27, (dpa/GNA) – In the Gaza Strip, 481 people are reported to have died from Israeli rocket attacks in 24 hours, according to the health authority controlled by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement.

In the days before, the number was sometimes significantly higher. In total 7,028 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the latest conflict, 66% of them women and children, according to the authority.

The tally was as of 6 pm (1600 GMT) on Thursday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday.

The information cannot be independently verified.

UN organizations use the Gaza health authority’s reports.

The Israeli military says it is trying to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible. It says there are warnings to flee rocket strikes.

Twelve more trucks carrying drinking water, food and humanitarian supplies entered Gaza on Thursday.

Before the Hamas terror attack in Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent closure of the area, 500 trucks carrying aid crossed the border every working day, according to UN figures.

The OCHA also gave a damage assessment by the Hamas authorities, which said 45% of all houses in the Gaza Strip are said to have been destroyed, that is just over 16,000, rendered uninhabitable, just over 11,000, or damaged, around 150,000, by the Israeli attacks.

The Israeli military says Hamas is hiding legitimate military targets among the houses.

GNA