Gaza death toll from Israeli strikes climbs to 11,180
GAZA: (Web Desk) The death toll in Gaza from Israeli strikes has climbed to 11,180 since the start of the conflict on October 7, media reports citing health authorities in the war-torn Gaza Strip have said.
Out of the total deaths, 4,609 were children and 3,100 were women, with more than 28,000 others injured.
22 hospitals and 49 health centers have ceased operations in Gaza due to Israeli attacks and a shortage of fuel needed to operate power generators.
The local health officials have accused Israel of launching strikes on the intensive care unit, surgery building, and maternity ward of the Shifa Medical Complex, calling for an urgent global effort to halt the fighting in Gaza and to bring in all humanitarian supplies including fuel to the people in Gaza.
Earlier, Israel responded to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s threat by saying: “We will turn Beirut into Gaza.”
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah delivered his second speech on Saturday on the Israel-Hamas war.
The speech was broadcast on the Al-Manar TV channel. Nasrallah said Israel wants to tell the Palestinians to “abandon the path of rebellion because it will cost too much.”
He added Israel will never achieve its goal because future generations will oppose what is happening in Gaza even more strongly. Israel reacted strongly to Nasrallah’s statement.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said after Nasrallah’s speech that “Hezbollah is close to making a grave mistake. The first to pay the price will be Lebanese citizens. We know what we are doing in Gaza. The situation in Beirut will be similar to Gaza where people are fleeing from their homes carrying white flags.”
Nasrallah said that attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon would continue. “These attacks are being carried out to support the Palestinians in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.”
Nasrallah claimed “Hezbollah has intensified its attacks on Israel and has used more powerful missiles in addition to drones. Hezbollah has carried out more attacks in the interior of Israel.”
In his address, Nasrallah also appealed to Islamic countries to unite against Israel. On Saturday, an extraordinary joint conference of Islamic and Arab countries was held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. In the conference, Arab and Islamic world leaders stressed an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Hassan Nasrallah said the Palestinians are not asking the leaders participating in this conference to send their troops to liberate Palestine. “The Palestinians are making a simple request that the leaders of the Muslim world unite and ask the United States for an immediate cessation of hostilities.”
The head of Hezbollah said 57 Arab and Islamic countries are not able to open a checkpoint for Gaza, provide aid there, and save the wounded.
It is to be noted here that the latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating the Israeli territory, while Israel responded with airstrikes, ground operations, and punitive measures that included a siege on the Gaza Strip.
