The Ministry of Health in the sector controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced today, Thursday, that more than 27,000 people have been killed and 66,000 others injured in the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the South African Foreign Minister accused Israel of ignoring the ruling issued by the United Nations Supreme Court last week, which ordered Israel to do everything possible to prevent casualties in Gaza.

The death toll has risen by more than 1,100 since the International Criminal Court in The Hague asked Israel to make every effort to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and Israel denies the genocide accusations directed at it by South Africa before the court.

The Ministry of Health said that 27,019 Palestinians have been killed and 66,139 injured since October 7, confirming that most of the dead are women and children.

Violence in Gaza continues to extend to neighboring countries. A US defense official said that Houthi rebels in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles on Thursday at a container ship flying the Liberian flag in the Red Sea, in the latest rebel attack as the United States conducts airstrikes against them.

The motive behind the Israeli attack was Hamas's attack on October 7 in southern Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and the capture of around 250 people as hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

Here are the events:

United Nations: The main provider of aid to Palestinians may stop operations

Geneva, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugee relief confirmed that it will "likely" need to halt its operations in the war-torn Gaza Strip and across the Middle East by the end of the month if funding stops, and aid from some major donors remains suspended.

The agency, known as UNRWA, said that 16 donor countries decided to stop financial support following Israel's allegations that 12 UNRWA staff participated in Hamas attacks on October 7 in Israel. Since then, the agency has expelled nine of them.

UNRWA says donors have stopped funding worth $440 million.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on Thursday: "If funding remains suspended, we will likely have to stop our operations by the end of February, not only in Gaza but also across the region."

The United Nations is investigating the Israeli allegations.

The agency said that nearly two million people in Gaza - mostly women and children - depend on UNRWA for survival through shelter, food aid, and primary healthcare it provides.

UNRWA is the largest humanitarian aid organization in Gaza, and 3,000 of its total 13,000 staff still work amid ongoing bloodshed in the war between Israel and Hamas; it also provides services to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Ministry of Health confirms more than 27,000 killed during Israeli aggression on Gaza

Cairo - The Ministry of Health in the sector said on Thursday that the death toll of the ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza for four months exceeded 27,000 Palestinian deaths and more than 66,000 injuries.

The death toll has risen by more than 1,100 since the International Criminal Court in The Hague ordered Israel a week ago to do everything possible to prevent deaths, destruction, and any genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel denies genocide accusations directed at it by South Africa before the court and says it is fighting to eliminate Hamas, which governs Gaza after the militants' attack on October 7 on southern Israel. The case before the court is likely to take years before a final ruling.

The ministry said that 27,019 Palestinians were martyred and 66,139 injured since October 7. It did not specify the number of women and children among the dead, but previous statistics show they make up as much as two-thirds of the total.

Israel said it killed thousands of Hamas militants during the war without providing a basis for its figures. The war erupted when hundreds of Palestinian militants invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and capturing nearly 250 people as hostages.

Explosion near a ship in the Red Sea amid ongoing Houthi attacks

Jerusalem – Houthi rebels in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles on Thursday at a container ship flying the Liberian flag in the Red Sea, according to a US defense official, in the latest rebel attack as the United States carries out airstrikes targeting them.

UK Maritime Trade Operations, a British military group overseeing waterways in the Middle East, said the attack occurred west of Hodeidah, a Yemeni port city long controlled by the rebels. It added that the crew and ship are fine and that the explosion happened away from the starboard side.

The US defense official identified the targeted container ship as the Koui. Attempts to contact its management immediately for comment were unsuccessful. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. Private security company Ambrey reported on Wednesday evening that a ship was targeted by a missile southwest of Aden, Yemen, near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claimed the attack also targeted Koui, though US officials had no immediate information about any attack on Wednesday night.

Since November, the rebels have frequently targeted ships in the Red Sea due to the Israeli attack on Gaza against Hamas. But they often targeted ships with weak or unclear links to Israel, endangering shipping on a key trade route between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

The Houthis hit a commercial ship with a missile on January 26, causing fires to burn for hours.

Late on Wednesday, US F/A-18 fighter jets bombed and destroyed 10 Houthi drones ready to launch, as well as a ground control station used by the rebels, according to the US military. The United States also intercepted a ballistic missile and other drones that were already in the air during the day.

The United States holds the Islamic Resistance in Iraq responsible for the drone attack

Washington – The United States attributed the drone attack that killed three US service members in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes the Kata'ib Hezbollah armed group.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that the US believes the attack was planned, resourced, and facilitated by the group.

The drone attack on Sunday on a military base in Jordan killed three soldiers and injured at least 40 others. Kirby says President Joe Biden will continue to consider response options to the attack, but "the first thing you see will not be the last."

Israeli protesters try to block aid trucks

Tel Aviv – Dozens of Israeli protesters tried to prevent humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, despite an order preventing them from approaching the border crossing used by the trucks.

According to a video released by an activist group behind the protests, police, including mounted officers, clashed with the protesters on Wednesday.

The protesters have been gathering near the Kerem Abu Salem crossing for several days, saying aid should not be allowed into Gaza while hostages are still held there. They say aid can be used as leverage to force Hamas to release the hostages.

Activists said up to 40 people were arrested, a number that cannot be independently confirmed. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Israeli army closed the area this week to prevent such protests from recurring. It was not immediately clear how close the crowd got to the crossing, and deliveries to Gaza do not appear to have been disrupted.

Kerem Abu Salem is the main goods crossing between Israel and Gaza.

Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in the early days of the war and prevented aid from entering. While it yielded under US pressure, the volume of aid was a small fraction of what entered the area before the war.