Over 55,000 Palestinians killed in ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza: Gaza Health Ministry
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip): The death toll of Palestinians in the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 55,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The figure marks a catastrophic human cost in what many international observers, rights groups, and legal experts have called a campaign of genocide against the Palestinian people.
The Health Ministry, which is staffed by medical professionals operating under the Hamas-run administration, reported on Wednesday that 55,104 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the onslaught, with 127,394 injured. It noted that women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. Many more are believed to be buried under rubble or remain unreachable in devastated zones.
The attacks by Israel escalated in October 2023, following an attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7 and years of blockade, occupation, and systemic repression in Gaza and the West Bank. While Israeli officials routinely claim that only fighters are targeted, the scale of destruction and the civilian death toll suggest otherwise, with entire neighborhoods flattened, hospitals destroyed, and over 90% of Gaza’s population displaced.
Vast portions of Gaza, including what was once the densely populated city of Rafah, have been converted into a militarized buffer zone, forcibly cleared of their inhabitants. Observers note that the level of devastation is unprecedented, with some calling it the most destructive military campaign since World War II.
In recent months, a 2½-month Israeli blockade, imposed after the collapse of a temporary ceasefire, deepened fears of mass starvation. Although partially lifted in May with a new aid mechanism backed by Israel and the US, the system has been marked by chaos, limited access, looting, and continued Israeli restrictions, the United Nations has said.
Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid, but the UN and international humanitarian agencies deny any organized siphoning of supplies by Palestinian fighters. Aid deliveries remain sporadic and inadequate, as Gaza’s health and infrastructure systems have largely collapsed.
Israel claims to have killed over 20,000 Palestinian fighters, a number it has not substantiated with evidence and acknowledges that Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza outside of active combat zones. 55 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, fewer than half believed to be alive.
Hamas has indicated that it would release the hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal, a permanent ceasefire, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. It has also offered to transfer governance to a politically independent Palestinian council. Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected these terms, insisting instead on temporary ceasefires only to retrieve hostages.
Netanyahu has stated that Israel intends to maintain indefinite control over Gaza and has even spoken of encouraging the “voluntary emigration” of its population, a plan widely condemned as ethnic cleansing and in violation of international law.
With over half of Gaza’s population now homeless and tens of thousands dead, the humanitarian catastrophe continues to worsen amid what Palestinian advocates and legal scholars are increasingly describing as a state-led campaign of displacement, destruction, and genocide.
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Iran''''s Mexico Embassy says Iran is negotiating with FIFA to move World Cup matches
Mexico City (AP): Iran's Embassy in Mexico on Tuesday said the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran's World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico after President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the tournament, citing safety concerns.
It was unclear whether such talks are happening with FIFA, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iranian officials have previously said it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup.
The Embassy posted a statement attributed to Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj saying Iran wants to move its group stage matches to Mexico to ensure the safety of players and officials.
“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” the statement said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran's matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
The World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play against New Zealand on June 16 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood, California, before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.
Moving the games would be unprecedented less than three months before the start of the World Cup.
Trump said last week that the Iran team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing war in the Middle East but “I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
Iran has sent mixed signals about its participation in the tournament after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks that killed the Islamic republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior figures.
Sports minister Ahmad Donyamali told state TV last week that it was not possible to play "due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran.”
But after Trump's post the national team said on Instagram that “no one can exclude” it from the tournament and a government spokesman in Tehran stressed in it was the responsibility of FIFA and the U.S. as a co-host nation to keep players safe and secure.
“FIFA is the organizer of the World Cup,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “When warnings are issued at the highest level about the environment being unsafe for Iranian football players, this indicates that the host country apparently lacks the capacity and ability to provide security for such an important sporting event.”
Soccer is followed passionately in Iran, a nation of more than 90 million people which has qualified for seven men's World Cups and each of the past four editions. The team is ranked No. 20 in the world by FIFA and behind only Japan from Asia.
FIFA has not commented in recent days beyond an Instagram post by president Gianni Infantino last week that he'd received assurances from Trump that Iran was welcome at the tournament.
