Gaza death toll climbs to 38,345

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday at least 38,345 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The toll added 50 new deaths in 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 88,295 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

Earlier, the Israeli army said that it has completed its mission in Shujaiya, a neighbourhood in the east of Gaza that has been the scene of violent fighting for two weeks.

The military statement said the operations destroyed "eight tunnels" and "eliminated dozens of terrorists, destroyed combat compounds and booby-trapped buildings."

The offensive in Shujaiya, which involved elite Israeli units, expanded Monday into the centre of Gaza City.

Mahmoud Bassal, a civil defence spokesman in Gaza, said there was extensive damage to "infrastructure and residential area" in Shujaiya, which had become a "ghost town".

"We are telling the world for the millionth time that the reality in the Gaza Strip is tragic and that there must be action from international and human rights institutions," he said in a statement.