The Israeli military said it had wrapped up major combat in northern Gaza, dismantling Hamas's military infrastructure there, as the war against the militant group entered its fourth month Sunday. Two journalists were among scores of people killed by Israeli bombardments in southern Gaza, according to health officials in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave. On a visit to Qatar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel must do more to protect civilians in Gaza and that Palestinians displaced by the war must "return home". Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
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Summary:
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Israeli air strikes hit Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza early Sunday, killing and wounding several dozen people as the Israel-Hamas war entered its fourth month. The victims included journalists Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for AFP, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, an Al Jazeera reporter.
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Nine Palestinians and two Israelis were killed Sunday in surging violence in the occupied West Bank, sources on both sides said. They included seven Palestinians targeted by an Israeli air strike in Jenin.
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On a visit to Qatar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel must do more to protect civilians in Gaza and that Palestinians displaced by the ongoing war must "must not be pressed to leave Gaza".
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Israeli officials say 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in southern Israel, among them 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children. At least 22,722 people have been killed and 58,166 wounded in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
Yesterday’s key developments:
- Following talks on Saturday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Turkey was committed to playing “a positive, productive” role in postwar Gaza and would use its influence to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from becoming a larger regional conflict.
- Blinken said a "big part of the conversations" during his whirlwind, eight-day trip focused on Gaza will be looking at how nations can use their respective influence "to make sure that this conflict doesn't spread". His trip includes stops in Istanbul, Crete, Amman, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, the West Bank, Cairo and Al-'Ula in Saudi Arabia.
- The Israeli army said it had completed dismantling Hamas's "military framework" in northern Gaza, with an Israeli military spokesman adding that some 8,000 militants have been killed in the fighting.
- Lebanon's Hezbollah fired more than 60 rockets at an Israeli base, with the group describing the barrage as an "initial response" to the killing of Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut last week.
Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry does not report how Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”.
The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout four wars and numerous skirmishes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the Hamas-run health ministry’s death tolls in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
In the aftermath of war, the UN humanitarian office has published final death tolls based on its own research into medical records. The UN's counts have largely been consistent with the Gaza health ministry’s, with small discrepancies.
For more on the Gaza health ministry’s tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
