Gaza’s health ministry said it was the 146th day of the war between Israel and Hamas, announcing that more than 30,000 Palestinians had been killed, including more than 12,000 children, a grim milestone.

Shortly after the announcement, more than 100 Palestinians were killed as they approached an aid truck in Gaza City. Israel said its soldiers were threatened as the truck was crushed.

The death toll and destruction rate in the war that began with the October 7 massacre by Hamas far exceeds those in past conflicts between Israel and the militant group and compares with some of the most destructive conflicts in modern history.

International law and policy experts say the ongoing bloodshed and humanitarian crisis are partly the fault of the international community’s failure to prevent it and could have widespread consequences.

Data provided by the Hamas-run health ministry have been questioned, in particular President Joe Biden After the explosion at Ahli hospital on October 17, many civilians were killed, the circumstances of which are still unclear.

But the ministry’s figures are consistent with those from the United Nations and Israel in previous wars.Israel rarely challenges them in this war, instead claiming One third are combatantsdata not specified.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that Israel had killed more than 25,000 women and children during the war and that Israel could and should do more to protect civilians.

Other casualty estimates are higher than the ministry’s figure, with thousands of Palestinians missing and believed to be buried under rubble.

The death toll is just one indicator of the scale of damage in Gaza. Health officials also claim more than 70,000 people have been injured. More than 1,000 children have lost one or more limbs, According to UNICEF.

More than half of the enclave’s residential buildings have been demolished damaged or destroyed According to a recent study of satellite images, Russian forces destroyed more than half of Mariupol, Ukraine, during the war and displaced some 1.7 million people, the vast majority of whom were Gaza’s population.

The United Nations recently estimated cost of damage About £16 billion.

Palestinians also point to hidden costs, such as the trauma endured by young people, the collapse of education and the lasting health effects of malnutrition.

Palestinian journalist Ruwayda Amir, a resident of Khan Younis in central Gaza, said she held the international community responsible for their plight.

“The world must value humanity,” she said. “Human beings deserve to live in freedom, dignity and security everywhere in the world… Unfortunately, the war in Gaza has exposed the racism and violence against Palestinians by some countries.”

Ms. Amer noted the continued military and diplomatic support provided to Israel by the United States and Europe as the death toll rose, as well as the limitations of humanitarian agencies.

“We found that many of the human rights institutions that support people in education, health and relief are doing little to save Gaza’s children from death, hunger and displacement,” she said.

Former Middle East minister Alistair Burt agreed there was a collective responsibility and said the world had a responsibility to urge victims of conflict to find solutions.

“Everything that happened from and including October 7 was a disaster,” he told us I. “It shows that the failure of international diplomacy and leadership by both Israel and the Palestinians going back decades has left only the usual victims; civilians, women, men and children, leaving scars for at least two generations to come.

“The only way an amendment can be made is never again, which means there will be no abandonment of a fully negotiated solution this time, that is the only answer.”

Biden has come under increasing pressure over his administration’s support for Israel, including arms supplies.Josh Paul, the State Department staffer responsible for overseeing military aid, resigned in October over his perceived failure to implement U.S. policies such as Lexi RouseThe sale of weapons to countries is prohibited when there is “reliable information” that the weapons could be used to violate human rights.

The United Nations and human rights groups accuse Israel of a range of abuses, including the use of U.S. weapons, including indiscriminate bombings, destroy civilian property, and the humiliation of prisoners.UN accuses Israel Deliberately starving civilians in Gazathe International Court of Justice (ICJ) is considering whether Israel is guilty of genocide.

Israel denies the accusations and claims it abides by the laws of war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described South Africa’s purchase of the International Court of Justice case as “outrageous”.

International law scholar Ken Ross, founder of Human Rights Watch, said international leaders could have done more to stop the bloodshed.

“The most important person who can stop this killing is Biden, who has been outspoken about seeking more humanitarian aid and less harm to civilians, but Netanyahu dismisses his verbal pressure as empty words,” Because he refuses to end or even limit U.S. military aid and weapons sales to Israel,” he said.

Mr Ross said the International Criminal Court (ICC) – unlike the International Court of Justice – could also play a role by bringing charges against war crimes, adding that failure to enforce international law and human rights standards could lead to the collapse of those standards, Serious violations will become more serious. normalization.

“Whether brazen criminal behavior becomes the new normal or an anomaly depends on how people respond to them,” he said, calling on Biden and International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan to change course. “The strength of international humanitarian law depends largely on their actions.”