GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has soared to 6,546, the Health Ministry said Wednesday.

“The fatalities included 2,704 children, 1,584 women, and 364 elders,” the ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told a press conference in Gaza City.

He said 17,439 other people were injured in the assaults, while 1,600 people remained trapped under the rubble, including 900 children.

The spokesman said 73 medics were killed and 25 ambulances destroyed in the Israeli attacks.

“Gaza’s healthcare system went out of service” amid relentless attacks and critical shortages, al-Qudra said.

Israel has launched relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas into Israeli territory on Oct. 7. At least 1,400 Israelis were killed in the attack.

Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been running out of food, water, medicines and fuel, and aid convoys allowed into Gaza have carried only a fraction of what is needed.