4 New Fatalities Raise Gaza's Death Toll To 869

Four Palestinians were killed early on Saturday by Israeli attacks on different parts of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian Health Ministry official said.



"The new fatalities raise Gaza's death toll from Israel's war to 869 since the beginning of this war on July 7," Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency.



He said 5730 more people were injured by Israel's unrelenting attacks on the Palestinian enclave.



Since July 7, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with fierce aerial bombardments with the ostensible aim of halting rocket fire.



Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rocket at Israeli cities in response to relentless Israeli bombardments.



According to official Israeli figures, 35 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed since the hostilities began.



Israel's military operation, dubbed operation "Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate Gaza Strip – which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.



In 2008/9, over 1500 Palestinians were killed in Israel's three-week-long operation "Cast Lead."



By Mustafa Haboosh



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