Ramallah, October 31 (RHC)-- Palestinian officials in the besieged Gaza Strip say the Israeli regime has dropped nearly 20,000 tons of explosives on the territory in its ongoing war of aggression.  “The Israeli occupation army has dropped more than 18,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip since its aggression started 24 days ago,” the Government Media Office in Gaza said in a Monday statement.

It added that 10,000 people have been either killed or are still missing as a result of the intensive bombardment by the regime, which has caused large-scale devastation as well.  The office said 50 tons of explosives have been dropped on every kilometer in Gaza Strip so far.

The statement came after the media office of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas said last week that Israel has bombed Gaza with more than 12,000 tons of explosives. It added that it was equivalent to the power of the nuclear bomb that was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Earlier on Monday, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha said in a statement that Israel’s relentless bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip constituted a war crime and a flagrant violation of international law.

He added that the Israeli airstrikes have also resulted in “wounding innocent civilians, including women, children, medical personnel and journalists.”  The OIC chief said Israel's attacks on hospitals in Gaza and the total blockade of the territory constitute “collective punishment, war crimes, and flagrant violation of international law.”

Israeli forces have “deliberately carried out attacks on hospitals, schools, places of worship, and United Nations facilities,” Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said.

Israel waged its bloody war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after Palestinian resistance movements based there launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

Since the start of the war, the Israeli regime has been committing war crimes in Gaza, killing more than 8,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children.  It has also imposed a complete siege on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to more than two million Palestinians living there.