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The death toll does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and it has not been possible to independently verify casualty figures inside the Palestinian territory
The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, Agence France-Press reports.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been going on for nearly five months with the death toll updated on Thursday.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday the group is showing flexibility in negotiations with Israel but at the same time it was ready to continue fighting. Another Hamas official, Basem Naim, told Al Jazeera “The gap is still wide”. The two sides have been negotiating around a draft framework that would reportedly see a six week pause in fighting and the release of hostages held in captivity by Hamas for Palestinians who have been detained by Israel.
Qatar has accused Israel of facilitating “the deliberate starvation of the Palestinian people” and called on the international community to apply more pressure on Israel, saying it was “painful” that the delivery of aid was still an issue. Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said “There are two and a half million people living in complete absence of health and emergency services. Aid should be freely provided without restrictions.”
Israel’s military has claimed it struck “eight significant terror targets” in Gaza overnight which it said had been responsible for rockets fired towards the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The IDF also announced that two further soldiers had been killed during its ground operation inside Gaza.
Houthi leaders have denied they have targeted critical underwater sea telecommunication cables, as Yemen’s UN recognised government warned of an imminent marine environmental disaster if a cargo ship struck by the rebels last week was not quickly rescued. The stricken Belize-flagged Rubymar, which was en route from the UAE to Europe via the Red Sea when she was hit by a Houthi attack, has been drifting and begun to sink.
A German naval frigate sent to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea nearly shot down a US drone by mistake, German media reported Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse. The German defence ministry confirmed a drone incident involving an allied nation occurred on Monday, without naming the country. The “Hesse” frigate opened fire after efforts to identify an unknown drone “were unsuccessful”, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to the German town of Oberviechtach, adding however that the target was “not hit”.
Families of some of the hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza have started a four-day march to demand their release. The route started at the site of the Nova music festival, scene of some of the worst atrocities during the 7 October attack, and will finish in Jerusalem.
New Zealand on Thursday became one of the last western countries to designate all of Hamas as a “terrorist entity”, saying the attacks of 7 October had shattered the notion its political and military wings could be separated. “The organisation as a whole bears responsibility for these horrific terrorist attacks,” the government said, announcing a move that spells a freeze on Hamas assets in New Zealand and a ban on providing it with “material support”.
Russian media is reporting that representatives of Hamas and Fatah will meet in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a united Palestinian government across both Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israeli strikes killed two people in Lebanon’s south on Wednesday evening, while Hamas earlier fired a volley of rockets towards northern Israel from Lebanon amid escalating cross-border clashes in recent days, Agence France-Presse reports.
Israel carried out strikes Wednesday near Damascus, Syria’s defence ministry said, according to Agence France-Presse. An AFP correspondent in the Syrian capital heard explosions followed by the sirens of ambulances. When asked about the strikes, the Israeli army told AFP: “We do not comment on reports in the foreign media.”
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