Nine hundred and seventy people have died in Israel’s new assault on Gaza

The health ministry in Gaza says that Israel’s new violence has killed at least 970 people in just 48 hours. A shaky ceasefire in Gaza was broken by a wave of deadly airstrikes on Tuesday. The health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that at least 970 people have died in the besieged territory since the attacks began.

The ministry said that as of noon on March 17, 48,577 people had died in the regime’s 15 months of genocidal war before the attack started up again.

The government said that by Wednesday noon, the number had grown to 49,547. They also said that “one death and five serious injuries among foreign staff working for UN institutions.”

It said that on Wednesday, Israel struck the UN headquarters in Deir el-Balah, which is in the middle of the Gaza Strip. The health ministry said the people were taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Israeli forces said they did not attack a UN building in Gaza.

One of their employees died when an explosive was “dropped or fired” on their building in Deir el-Balah, according to the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). It said, “An explosive device was dropped or fired at the infrastructure and went off inside the building.” The statement added that five other people suffered injuries.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, the executive director of UNOPS, said he was “shocked and devastated” by the death of a staff member.

That wasn’t an accident, he said, adding that “attacks against humanitarian premises are a breach of international law.”

Later that day, Bulgaria’s foreign office said that a Bulgarian working for the UN had been killed in Gaza, but they didn’t say where in the territory.

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the killing of women and children in Gaza was “just the beginning.” He is being charged with war crimes and racial cleansing in Gaza.