GAZA CITY: The health ministry in Gaza reported on Saturday that at least 43,314, Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ongoing Israeli bombardment campaign in the besieged territory since October 7, 2023.
The death toll includes 55 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the health ministry, which said 102,019 people have been injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched the ongoing bombardment campaign on October 7, 2023.
The latest casualties include three civilians killed in the as-Saftawi neighbourhood in North Gaza, where an Israeli drone strike targeted densely populated areas, Al Jazeera reported. Israeli attacks have turned the north region into a “disaster zone,” where neighbourhoods like Jabalia and Beit Lahiya have been devastated, with residents unable to flee.
Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, Sanad, showed injured victims and bodies arriving at al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia after Israeli airstrikes hit residential homes in Beit Lahiya.
Meanwhile, efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah have stalled, according to reports by Reuters. The failure of the talks came after Israeli airstrikes killed at least 68 people in Gaza and bombed southern Beirut, escalating violence on both fronts.
In Gaza, one of the strikes reportedly targeted a senior Hamas official, Izz al-Din Kassab, in Khan Younis. The United States has been working to secure a truce before next Tuesday’s US presidential election, with its envoys attempting to halt Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.
However, Hamas stated via its Al-Aqsa television channel that it does not support a temporary truce, emphasizing that any ceasefire would need to address the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a resolution to the conflict in Gaza.
Overnight, heavy Israeli airstrikes hit central and southern areas of Gaza, including Deir Al-Balah, Nuseirat camp, and Al-Zawayda. According to medics at al-Awda Hospital, a strike at a school gate in Nuseirat, where displaced Palestinians were sheltering, left 14 people dead.
In Khan Younis, another 10 people were killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle. Medics also reported that an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat killed four people, including three children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “enforce security despite any pressure or constraints,” dismissing ceasefire efforts that could compromise Israel’s strategic aims in Gaza.
