Israel’s 20-month war in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 57,012 Palestinians and 134,592 injured since October 2023, the enclave’s Health Ministry said Wednesday.

Majority of casualties are women and children.

Since Israel broke the most recent cease-fire with Hamas on March 18, at least 6,454 Palestinians have been killed and 22,551 injured, according to the ministry.

The latest update came as Israeli forces killed at least 43 Palestinians across the enclave on Wednesday.

“There has been a very significant expansion of ground operations in border towns and villages, specifically in Jabalia, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and the eastern part of Gaza City,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Assoum reported. He added that Israeli airstrikes also hit a residential area in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.

GHF faces scrutiny amid Israeli attacks near aid centers

Reports indicate that Israeli soldiers opened fire on crowds near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid center on Wednesday, a near-daily occurrence since May 27.

The GHF is a private organization backed by Israel and the United States but condemned by the United Nations. Calls for the group’s dismantlement are mounting, according to Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

“The humanitarian community calls for an end to the so-called ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ (GHF) since it provides nothing but starvation and gunfire to the people of #Gaza,” Lazzarini wrote Tuesday on X. “Since this scheme began, at least 500 starving people have been reported killed and nearly 4,000 injured while desperately struggling to get food.”

Lazzarini added that more than 130 non-governmental organizations have called for the GHF to be disbanded.

The war’s impact on Gazan infrastructure

The ongoing war has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure, flattening nearly all buildings across the enclave, including schools, religious sites and hospitals, according to local and international organizations.

Ninety percent of Gaza’s schools, including all seven universities, have been destroyed..

Many of the area’s historic mosques and churches have also been reduced to rubble.

According to the World Health Organization, “at least 94%” of Gaza’s health facilities—including hospitals and clinics—have been either partially or completely destroyed. Of the enclave’s 36 hospitals, only 19 remain functional.