TEHRAN - Israel’s brutal war against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip continues unabated as the death toll from the yearlong onslaught surpasses 42,000.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said on Friday that at least 42,126 people have been killed and more than 98,000 others wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Friday marked another bloody day in Gaza as the Israeli army carried out deadly raids in the enclave in particular targeting the Jabalia refugee camp. 

The army’s shelling of homes in Jabalia caused high civilian casualties with emergency workers scrambling to recover bodies from under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Israeli fighter jets also bombed a clinic in Gaza City that was being used as a shelter for displaced people. According to Al Jazeera, at least four people including an infant were killed in the attack and many others were seriously wounded.

Israel persists in its carnage in Gaza while the global attention is focused on the regime’s assaults in Lebanon. 

Lebanon’s health officials say about 2,200 people have been killed and thousands of others injured in Israeli attacks against the country since last month.

Israel launched a massive bombing campaign in Lebanon on September 23 that was followed by a military incursion into the south of the Mediterranean nation. 

Israel claims it hits positions of the Hezbollah resistance movement but facts on the ground show civilians have fallen victim to the strikes. 

The conflict in Lebanon is actually a way for Israel to shift attention away from its military setbacks in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army to wage war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a surprise military operation in southern Israel. 

More than a year later, Netanyahu has not succeeded in realizing his objectives which mainly include “total victory” over Hamas and the elimination of the resistance movement.

More than 700 Israeli troops have been killed since October 7 last year and Hamas has put up stiff resistance against the regime’s army. 

Nonetheless, Netanyahu aims to convey the perception that progress has been achieved in the war.

Israel is under domestic pressure due to its inability to meet its war objectives in Gaza. 

The Netanyahu regime is also facing growing international pressure for its war of genocide in Gaza. 

The International Criminal Court  (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his war minister Yoav Gallant over committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also stands accused of genocide in the Palestinian territory at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The genocide case was filed by South Africa in late 2023. 

Bolivia is the latest country which has officially joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ.  

“Israel’s genocidal war continues, and the Court’s orders remain dead letters to Israel,” the South American country said in its application submitted to the ICJ, known at the World Court, on Tuesday.

It added, “Bolivia seeks to intervene since it considers that it has a responsibility to condemn the crime of genocide.”

Turkey, Nicaragua, Spain, Mexico, Libya and Colombia have already joined the genocide case.

But Israel has turned a blind eye to increasing calls to stop its genocidal campaign in Gaza. The regime is carrying out the systematic killing of Palestinians with impunity, bolstered by the backing of Western nations, especially the United States.

The US and its Western allies have publicly expressed concern about the loss of civilian life in Gaza. But their behavior is indicative of callous disregard for innocent and defenseless Palestinians.