The death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has now exceeded 40,000, as ceasefire talks are set to resume in Qatar. The escalation in violence has resulted in 40,005 confirmed deaths and 92,401 injuries since the conflict erupted in early October 2023, according to Gaza-based health authorities.
In the past 24 hours alone, the Israeli military reported killing 40 individuals and injuring 107 others. Many victims remain trapped under rubble or stranded on roads, with emergency responders struggling to reach them, the authorities said.
The toll has surged from 30,000 to 40,000 within just five and a half months, Xinhua news agency reported. Recent Israeli bombings have targeted key locations, including a field hospital in Deir al-Balah on July 27, resulting in at least 30 deaths and over 100 injuries, and a school in Gaza City on August 10, which claimed more than 100 lives and injured many others.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported continuing operations in Gaza, focusing on “eliminating terrorists and dismantling terrorist infrastructure.” Over the past day, Israeli airstrikes targeted more than 30 Hamas infrastructure sites, including explosive-rigged structures, underground facilities, and weapons storage locations.
Israel Hamas Conflict
The conflict began with a large-scale Israeli offensive against Hamas following a Hamas assault on the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages.
The protracted conflict has rendered much of Gaza uninhabitable. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that about 84% of the Gaza Strip, covering 305 square kilometers, is under evacuation orders. Additionally, the UN Human Rights Office has recorded 21 attacks on schools serving as shelters since July 4, resulting in at least 274 fatalities.
Conditions in Gaza are dire, with many women and girls enduring severe hardships due to a lack of basic amenities. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), highlighted the severe lack of sanitation and privacy affecting displaced individuals.
As the international community looks towards ceasefire negotiations in Doha, uncertainty persists. Suhail Hindi, a member of Hamas’s Political Bureau, announced that the group will not participate in the talks without a clear commitment from Israel to adhere to a ceasefire agreement proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden on July 2. Hamas has called for a concrete plan for implementing the proposal rather than more rounds of negotiations.
Palestinian residents like Mohammed Hammad from Deir al-Balah remain hopeful yet skeptical about the outcome of the Doha summit. “People are trying to adapt, but there is no optimism that this suffering will end anytime soon,” Hammad told Xinhua. “We hope for good news, but I fear the ceasefire efforts may fail as we approach nearly a year of conflict.”
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