The number of Palestinians killed in the year-long war in Gaza has passed 43,000, more than half of them women and children, the Palestinian Health Ministry says.
The tally includes 96 dead who arrived at hospitals in Gaza over the past two days, the ministry said on Monday.
Israeli troops have launched an ongoing operation in northern Gaza that included a raid on a hospital over the weekend. The military said it detained 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday.
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The World Health Organisation accused Israel of detaining 44 male hospital staff. Palestinian medical officials said the hospital, which was treating some 200 patients, was heavily damaged in the raid.
Israel has raided several hospitals in Gaza over the course of the year-long war, saying Hamas and other militants use them for military purposes. Palestinian medical officials deny those allegations and accuse the military of recklessly endangering civilians.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, said there was heavy fighting around Kamal Adwan Hospital, though not inside it, and that weapons were found inside the facility.
The official said medical staff were detained and searched because some of the militants had disguised themselves as medics.
According to the official, the military had helped international organisations relocate 88 patients and medical staff to other hospitals in the weeks leading up to the raid, and that during the raid itself, troops had brought 30,000 litres of fuel and medical supplies from international organisations to help keep the facility running.
The Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks. The official said the operation in the northern Gaza city of Jabaliya would last “several more weeks”.
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The UN said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 43,020 people have been killed and 101,110 others wounded since the war started. It did not differentiate between militants and civilians.
The Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023, blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.
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