The number of Palestinians in Gaza exceeds 43,000 as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict continues – World

GAZA/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM – The number of Palestinian deaths due to Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip stands at 43,000 as of Monday, as Israeli forces continue to strike parts of Lebanon, killing at least 2,710 people since Hezbollah-Israeli hostilities began in October. exceeded . last year.

Gaza-based health officials reported that in the last 48 hours since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict began on October 7, 2023, the Israeli army killed 96 people and injured 277 people in Gaza, increasing the total death toll to 43,020 and the number of injured to 101,110. he said in a statement.

In the statement, it was stated that some of the victims were trapped under the rubble, and ambulance and civil defense teams could not reach them.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday that its troops had carried out targeted raids in central and southern Gaza, killing armed militants and smashing their infrastructure.

Earlier in the day, the IDF claimed to have captured nearly 100 militants during an operation at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliyah, northern Gaza.

The IDF said the operation was based on intelligence indicating that “terrorists had established themselves in the hospital” and was aimed at “preventing terrorist activities and capturing terrorists”.

The statement stated that Israeli forces also found weapons, funds and intelligence documents inside the hospital.

He claimed that Hamas fighters operated repeatedly from inside hospitals in the Gaza Strip throughout the war “to hold hostages, carry out terrorist attacks, and store weapons and explosives.”

Meanwhile, Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, called for the protection of the hospital, its patients and staff from further Israeli attacks, describing the situation as “extremely disastrous” in a post on social media platform X.

The director said his son was killed and 31 hospital staff were either taken away or arrested, and called for the opening of a humanitarian corridor to bring in medical teams to provide intensive care to the injured.

Israel is launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Hamas attack on Israel’s southern border on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 250 people were taken hostage.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported on Monday that 23 people were killed and 97 injured in Lebanon’s Southern Governorate; Nine people died and 24 were injured in Nabatieh province; Two people were killed and one person was injured in the Bekaa region; Four people were killed and two were injured in Baalbek-Hermel province.

The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that 44 people were killed and many others were injured in the Israeli air strike on the eastern Lebanon city of Baalbek on Monday night.

Lebanese military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Israeli forces carried out 17 air strikes in the south of Lebanon and 5 in the east, while artillery units fired 45 artillery shells at 20 border towns and villages. Supported by Merkava tanks, Israeli infantry advanced towards several villages in southern Lebanon but encountered artillery and missile fire from Hezbollah’s Islamic Resistance.

Hezbollah confirmed that it targeted Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles near Margaliot, as well as launching missile attacks on Israeli forces near Kafr Kila, Rab El Thalathine and al-Taybeh. A video from Hezbollah media shows its forces repelling an Israeli commando trying to infiltrate Al Taybe.

The Israeli army’s intense air strikes on Lebanon since September 23 indicate a dangerous escalation between it and Hezbollah. Additionally, Israel launched a ground operation into Lebanon from its northern border at the beginning of this month.

As conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he is pushing to continue the Abraham Accord process and achieve peace with more Arab countries.

Speaking on the opening day of the winter session of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Netanyahu said that Israel’s priority is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “Stopping Iran’s nuclear program is at the forefront of our minds,” he said.

Netanyahu noted that his country maintains a “constant dialogue” with the United States, but that “we choose goals and objectives according to our own interests and opinions.”

The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, normalized Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

Meanwhile, the Israeli parliament passed a law on Monday banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israel.

“It is proposed that since UNRWA and its employees have participated and been proven to be involved in terrorist activities against Israel, Israel will take action to stop all activities of the agency on its territory,” the explanatory notes to the law read. The statement is included.

In a post on X, UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini said the vote against the agency “sets an unprecedented and dangerous precedent.”

“It defies the UN Charter and violates the obligations of the State of Israel under international law… These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where people have been living in hell for more than a year,” he wrote.