GAZA: The health ministry in Gaza has said that around 40,939 people have been killed in the war between Hamas and Israe, now in its 12th month. The toll includes about 61 deaths in the last 48 hours, according to ministry figures, which list 94,616 people as injured in the Gaza since the conflict began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. The conflict between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza entered its 12-month Saturday with little sign of respite for the Palestinian territory. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have all been mediating in an effort to bring about a truce in the conflict. Global pressure to end the conflict was further underlined by Friday’s shooting dead in the West Bank of a Turkish-American activist demonstrating against Israeli settlements in the occupied area.
The chiefs of the American and British foreign intelligence agencies have said they are “working ceaselessly” for a truce in the Gaza Strip, using a rare joint public statement to press for peace in the region.
According to the Associated Press CIA Director William Burns and MI6 head Richard Moore said their agencies had “exploited our intelligence means to push hard for de-escalation and restraint.” In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, they said a truce in Israel’s war against Hamas “could end the suffering and terrible loss of life of Palestinians and bring home the captives after 11 months of hellish confinement.”
