Gaza families wear ID bracelets to avoid burial in mass graves

GAZA STRIP, Oct 25 (Agencies): The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Wednesday that 6,546 people have been killed in the territory since the outbreak of war with Israel.
The death toll includes 2,704 children. A total of 17,439 people have also been wounded since the conflict erupted on October 7.
With so many bodies, Palestinians in Gaza are burying the unidentified dead in mass graves, with a number instead of a name, residents say. Now some families are using bracelets in the hope of finding their loved ones should they be killed.
The El-Daba family has tried to reduce the risk of being struck down during the heaviest-ever Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Israel launched the air strikes after Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns on Oct. 7 in a rampage that killed 1,400 people and hostages were taken.
An Israeli military spokesperson said: "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has been encouraging residents of the northern Gaza Strip to move southward and not to stay in the vicinity of Hamas terror targets within Gaza City."
"But, ultimately, Hamas has entrenched itself among the civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip. So wherever a Hamas target arises, the IDF will strike at it in order to thwart the terrorist capabilities of the group, while taking feasible precautions to mitigate the harm to uninvolved civilians."
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says he is "shocked" at the reaction to a statement he made on Tuesday about the war between Israel and Hamas.
He says he clearly condemned the "acts of terror" inflicted on Israel in a speech in which he also said the attacks did not happen "in a vacuum".
Guterres addressed the controversy after Israel said it would deny visas to top UN officials to send a message after the remarks.
Top Israeli diplomats had also called for Guterres to resign, accusing him of "expressing an understanding for terrorism and murder".
In his original statement Guterres had stated: "The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas".
Meanwhile in Gaza, hospitals are stopping all but emergency services as fuel runs out.
Israel has blocked new fuel supplies reaching Gaza, but accuses Hamas of stockpiling hundreds of thousands of litres
Israel vowed again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls for a cease-fire from the UN chief, the Palestinians and many countries at a high-level UN meeting on Tuesday and declaring that the war in Gaza is not only its war but "the war of the free world."
Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also dismissed calls for "proportionality" in the country's response to Hamas' surprise attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,400 people and has since led to more than 5,700 Palestinian deaths in Gaza according to its Health Ministry.