Gaza death toll reaches 40,000 as ceasefire talks resume
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war against Hamas, the Health ministry in the enclave said Thursday. The milestone has been passed at an unpredictable point in the conflict, as a new round of ceasefire talks is due to begin.
During the past 24 hours, 40 people have died in Gaza, taking the total number of deaths since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October to 40,005. That number equates to about 1.7 per cent of the 2.3 million population of the enclave. A majority are children, women and elderly people.
Alongside the fatalities, more than 92,401 have been injured and nearly 60 per cent of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. While international journalists are unable to report from Gaza to independently verify the figures, the information from the Hamas-led Gaza Health ministry is seen as reliable by the UN and international institutions.
High-stakes talks
The figures come at a very unpredictable point in the conflict, as new rounds of ceasefire talks are to begin on Thursday. The high-stakes meeting seeks to revive stalled negotiations for a ceasefire-hostage deal, with the Middle East bracing itself for a wider regional conflict.
International mediators have been trying to negotiate US president Joe Biden's ceasefire proposal since the end of May. Israel has argued against a provision that would see an end to fighting as long as the talks go on, as it believes Hamas would use this as an opportunity to drag out talks as long as possible to rebuild military infrastructure. Hamas has said it fears Israel would cease to honour the agreement as soon as its most vulnerable hostages have been returned.
Israel has already confirmed it is sending a delegation to the talks, which will also be attended by Qatari, Egyptian and American officials. Hamas, however, has said it will not participate in talks but is willing to speak to mediators afterwards, under the condition that there are “developments or a serious response from Israel”.
People search the rubble of a building destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood © PHOTO OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP
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