Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
International

Palestinian death toll in Gaza exceeds 40,000 as peace talks renew

Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Aug, 2024 12:52 PM
  • Palestinian death toll in Gaza exceeds 40,000 as peace talks renew

Gaza, Aug 16 (IANS) The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 40,000, at a time when the Gaza ceasefire talks were set to resume in Qatar.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 40 people and wounded 107 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,005 and injuries to 92,401 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, Gaza-based health authorities said on Thursday in a statement.

There are still many victims under the rubble and on the roads, with ambulance and civil defence crews unable to reach them, it added.

It took only five-and-a-half months for the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip to rise from 30,000 to 40,000, Xinhua news agency reported.

Large-scale Israeli attacks continued over the past month.

According to Gaza health authorities, an Israeli bombing of a field hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on July 27 resulted in at least 30 Palestinians killed and more than 100 injured.

On August 10, another Israeli bombing targetted a school in Gaza City, killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring dozens more, according to the authorities.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Thursday that it is continuing operational activity in the Gaza Strip, "eliminating terrorists and dismantling terrorist infrastructure."

Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force dismantled more than 30 Hamas infrastructure sites, including structures rigged with explosives, underground infrastructure, and weapons storage facilities, the IDF added.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage.

The prolonged Hamas-Israel conflict has made the besieged coastal enclave uninhabitable. About 305 square km, nearly 84 per cent of the Gaza Strip, have been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to an update released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday.

Since July 4, the UN Human Rights Office has recorded 21 strikes against schools serving as shelters in the Strip, which have resulted in at least 274 fatalities, including women and children, the update said.

Women and girls often spend months without taking a shower, going through several menstrual cycles without washing up, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said on social media platform X on Thursday.

They have to cut their hair very short due to lice, lack of shampoo, not enough water or combs, and many said they do not feel safe, have no privacy or dignity in overcrowded shelters and displacement sites, Lazzarini added.

As many people pin their hope on Thursday's ceasefire talks in Doha, uncertainty still casts a shadow.

Suhail Hindi, a member of Hamas's Political Bureau, announced on Wednesday that the group will not participate in the ceasefire.

Hindi said that Hamas needed a clear commitment from Israel to adhere to the agreement made on July 2, based on a ceasefire proposal from US President Joe Biden, adding that Hamas is ready to implement the agreement should the commitment be made.

On Sunday, Hamas demanded that ceasefire mediators present a plan to implement the proposal, instead of "going to more rounds of negotiations or new proposals that provide cover for the occupation's aggression".

"Life is tragic. People are trying to adapt, but there is no optimism that this suffering will end anytime soon. Honestly, we are doing everything we can to survive and adapt but the destruction and death everywhere prevent us from doing so," Mohammed Hammad, a Palestinian living in Deir al-Balah, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"We hope to hear good news after the summit held in Doha, but at the same time I fear that the ceasefire efforts will fail, especially since we are approaching a year of war," Hammad said.

MORE International ARTICLES

Sikh man honoured with top Australian award for his brave act

Sikh man honoured with top Australian award for his brave act
Seehra has been awarded 'Commendation for Brave Conduct' for his swift action towards an agitated patient who threatened to blow up the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in Queensland. The patient had a red-wired explosive-looking device wrapped around his body, Seehra told SBS Punjabi.

Sikh man honoured with top Australian award for his brave act

Indian-American student, Varun Manish Chheda, killed in US, roommate arrested

Indian-American student, Varun Manish Chheda, killed in US, roommate arrested
Ji Min Sha, a 22-year-old junior cybersecurity major from Seoul, South Korea, has been held as the prime suspect in the case, Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete said. Wiete called the crime "unprovoked and senseless".  Chheda was just 10 days away from his 21st birthday, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Indian-American student, Varun Manish Chheda, killed in US, roommate arrested

All 4 people from Indian family who were kidnapped in California found brutally murdered

All 4 people from Indian family who were kidnapped in California found brutally murdered
In a statement, the Chief Minister said it is unfortunate that a Punjabi family hailing from the Harsi village of Hoshiarpur district in the state have been murdered in California. He said that as per reports the family was kidnapped and was brutally murdered later on. Mann said the deceased have been identified as Jasdeep Singh, Jasleen Kaur, Amandeep Singh and an eight-month-old baby Ruhi.

All 4 people from Indian family who were kidnapped in California found brutally murdered

End vaccination mandate at Canada-U.S. border, New York senator urges White House

End vaccination mandate at Canada-U.S. border, New York senator urges White House
A prominent New York senator is joining the ranks of American lawmakers who want the White House to end vaccination rules at the Canada-U.S. land border. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Brian Higgins, Democrats both, have written to urge President Joe Biden to "reciprocate" Canada's new COVID-19 border policy.

End vaccination mandate at Canada-U.S. border, New York senator urges White House

US jewel thief charged with hate crimes for targeting South Asian women

US jewel thief charged with hate crimes for targeting South Asian women
A California man has been charged with hate crimes and robbery after he attacked and robbed 14 South Asian women, mostly wearing sarees and bindis. The estimated worth of all the stolen necklaces is about $35,000.

US jewel thief charged with hate crimes for targeting South Asian women

A person in custody after truck belonging to uncle in California kidnapping of Indian family found on fire

A person in custody after truck belonging to uncle in California kidnapping of Indian family found on fire
Mystery deepened in the case of a kidnapped Indian-origin family in California as officials reported that a person was taken into custody in connection with the case after he attempted suicide and the truck belonging to one of the victims was found burning.  But still missing is the kidnapped family - eight-month-old baby Aroohi Dheri, her parents, Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, and uncle, Amandeep Singh, 39.

A person in custody after truck belonging to uncle in California kidnapping of Indian family found on fire