Gaza war death toll reaches 36,586

Hamas’s Health Ministry in Gaza said on Wednesday that at least 36,586 people have been killed in the territory during more  than seven months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.

The toll includes at least 36 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 83,074 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

The Gaza Strip faces unprecedented disease outbreaks this summer caused by piles of uncollected waste rotting in the heat, fueling further misery for residents already suffering from food shortages.

Fenia Diamanti, project coordinator of emergencies at the non-governmental organization, said that managing rubbish is one of its main concerns, since it can’t be removed from the war-torn territory and nor do inhabitants have access to dumps. 

“This amount of solid waste all over the strip causes multiple hygiene and sanitation problems,” Diamanti said.

“We fear diseases that never appeared in the strip before are going to appear and that will affect the entire population, especially in the summer when temperatures are going to rise.”

Israel has laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip.

Last month was the warmest May ever globally, marking the 12th consecutive month of record average temperatures, the European Commission-backed weather monitoring service Copernicus said.

Last summer, a heatwave in Gaza sent temperatures soaring to 38 degrees Celsius, causing 12-hour power cuts.