The death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 40,000, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
The ministry reported that 25 civilians were killed and 72 injured in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities since October 7 to 40,099 and the number of injured to 92,609.
The Civil Defence in Gaza said that its crews had recovered more than 35,000 bodies since the beginning of the war, while citizens had recovered more than 4,000 deaths due to Israeli obstruction of rescue efforts. The Civil Defence also reported that 1,760 bodies had “evaporated” due to the use of prohibited weapons and that 2,210 bodies had disappeared from various graves.
The organisation reported that 82 of its cadres had been killed by Israeli fire and that 80% of Gaza’s infrastructure had been destroyed.
Amid the escalating violence, efforts to secure a ceasefire continue, but progress remains slow.
Osama Hamdan, a leader in Hamas, said that the current US proposal does not include a withdrawal from Gaza or a ceasefire.
“We are still negotiating the criteria, and there is no talk yet about the names of the prisoners,” Hamdan said. “The ceasefire must be guaranteed within clear criteria.”
Hamdan also expressed scepticism about the US administration’s willingness to achieve a ceasefire.
“The US administration has no real will to a ceasefire in Gaza,” Hamdan said.
An Israeli Broadcasting Corporation report citing Israeli security sources said that despite recent optimism, major obstacles remain to securing a deal.
The report said that one of the primary points of contention is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand to prevent the return of resistance fighters to the northern Gaza Strip as part of a ceasefire.
“The matter is not on the table,” an Israeli source familiar with the negotiations told the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation. “For them, the deal is not possible if Israel insists on such a condition, after evacuating the Netzarim axis.”
Meanwhile, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said its fighters detonated two explosive devices against Israeli forces, killing and wounding members in the west of Hamad City, north of Khan Yunis.
The Al-Qassam Brigades also reported that its fighters detonated a barrel bomb and a shock bomb against Israeli forces in the same area.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced that it had bombarded the Mars military site with a barrage of rockets. The group also fired a barrage of 60mm mortar shells at Israeli forces north of Hamad City and shelled a command and control headquarters with 107mm rockets.
