Gaza City, July 24 (RHC)-- The Government Media Office in Gaza says Israel has killed at least 16,000 children in the besieged territory since October.  The media office said in a statement on Tuesday that the figure is part of the overall death toll of more than 39,000 people.

The office said nearly 90,000 Palestinians have been wounded in the war, mostly children and women. About 10,000 remain missing.  At least 34 children have died due to malnutrition, while 17,000 children are living without one or both parents, the office said.

The latest figures come as a leading general medical journal has estimated that the death toll from Israel’s genocidal campaign could be 186,000 or even more, translating to 7.9 percent of the population.  In a report published earlier this month, the Lancet said the figure includes both direct and indirect deaths from the Israeli onslaught and those still buried under the rubble in Gaza.

The journal said it had applied a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel launched the campaign of death, destruction and genocide after it was caught off-guard by Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories.  The regime has been enforcing a near-total siege on the coastal territory, which has reduced into a trickle the flow of foodstuffs, medicine, electricity, and water into the Palestinian territory.