At least 45 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total death toll since October to 39,445, the territory’s health ministry said on Wednesday.
Another 91,073 people were injured in the attacks, the ministry said in a statement. It also added:
“Over the past 24 hours, the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza has killed 45 people and injured 77 others. Many people are still under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers cannot reach them.”
In violation of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has come under international condemnation for its ongoing brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
Nearly ten months into Israel’s war, vast swathes of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide by the UN International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians took refuge from the war before it was captured on May 6.
Murder undermines chances for Gaza truce
Meanwhile, Qatar and Egypt, which have mediated ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, suggested on Wednesday that the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh could jeopardise efforts to reach a truce in Gaza. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X:
“Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life. The world needs serious partners and a global stand against disregard for human life.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel’s “dangerous policy of escalation” over the past two days had undermined efforts to end the fighting in Gaza. It said:
“The coincidence of this regional escalation with the lack of progress in Gaza ceasefire negotiations complicates the situation and indicates Israel’s lack of political will to calm it down. This undermines the strenuous efforts of Egypt and its partners to end the war in the Gaza Strip and end the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Qatar, Egypt and the US have repeatedly tried to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Haniyeh, who was mainly based in Qatar, was killed early this morning in Iran, raising fears of a wider escalation in a Middle East rocked by Israel’s war in Gaza and worsening conflict in Lebanon.
Qatar condemned Haniyeh’s killing in the Iranian capital Tehran, saying it was a dangerous escalation. His death came less than 24 hours after Israel said it had killed a Hezbollah commander in Beirut whom it blamed for a deadly strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
