At least 40,265 people have been killed and 93,144 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since October 7, the enclave’s Health Ministry says.
Al Jazeera quoting the ministry reported that of those, 42 Palestinians were killed and 163 wounded in the past 24-hour reporting period.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.
The ministry added that some 93,144 others have been injured in the ongoing assault.
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“Israeli forces killed 42 people and injured 163 others in four ‘massacres’ of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.
“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
Israel has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, following a Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.
Meanwhile, the talks between Egyptian, Israeli and US officials will focus on the border as Israel demands that it maintain a military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor – the name used for the stretch of land along the border, the US news website Axios reports.
Egypt has rejected any long-term Israeli presence there, seeing it as a security threat. Hamas has also demanded the Israelis withdraw from the area, which Israeli forces captured in late May. The Palestinian group has insisted that a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza – including the Philadelphi Corridor – be part of any ceasefire deal.
The issue is a major sticking point, and Axios reports that Biden urged Netanyahu to be “flexible” on the issue during the talks.