Palestinian death toll surpasses 43,000 in Gaza as Israel-Hezbollah conflict continues

GAZA/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM - The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has exceeded 43,000 as of Monday, as Israeli forces continued to pound various areas across Lebanon, killing at least 2,710 people since the Hezbollah-Israeli clashes began in October last year.

During the past 48 hours, the Israeli military killed 96 people and wounded 277 others in Gaza, bringing the total death toll to 43,020 and injuries to 101,110 since the onset of Palestinian-Israeli conflict on Oct 7, 2023, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement.

A number of victims remain trapped under rubble, and ambulance and civil defense teams were unable to reach them, the statement said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Monday that its troops conducted targeted raids in central and southern Gaza, killing armed militants and dismantling their infrastructure.

Earlier in the day, the IDF claimed that it apprehended about 100 militants during an operation in Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia of northern Gaza.

The IDF said the operation was based on intelligence indicating that "terrorists had embedded themselves inside the hospital" and was aimed to "thwart terrorist activities and apprehend terrorists".

Inside the hospital, Israeli forces also found weapons, funds, and intelligence documents, the statement said.

It alleged that Hamas fighters had repeatedly operated from inside hospitals across the Gaza Strip, "using them to hold hostages, execute terror attacks, and store weapons and explosives" throughout the war.

Meanwhile, in a post on the social media platform X, Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, called for the protection of the hospital, its patients, and staff from further Israeli attacks, describing the situation as "extremely catastrophic".

The director said his son was killed and 31 hospital staffers were either taken or arrested, urging the opening of a humanitarian corridor to bring in medical teams to provide critical care to the wounded.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

In Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported Monday that 23 people were killed, and 97 others wounded in the South governorate; nine people were killed and 24 wounded in the Nabatieh governorate; two people were killed and another injured in the Bekaa region; four people were killed and two others injured in the Baalbek-Hermel governorate.

On Monday night, 44 people were killed and several others injured in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Lebanese military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Israeli forces conducted 17 air raids in southern Lebanon and five in the east, while artillery fired 45 shells at 20 border towns and villages. Israeli infantry, supported by Merkava tanks, advanced towards several villages in southern Lebanon, but were met with artillery and missile fire from Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance.

Hezbollah confirmed targeting Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles near Margaliot, along with missile strikes at Israeli forces near Kafr Kila, Rab El Thalathine, and al-Taybeh. A video from Hezbollah's media showed its forces repelling an Israeli commando attempting to infiltrate al-Taybeh.

Since Sept 23, the Israeli army has conducted an intensive air attack on Lebanon, marking a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah. In addition, Israel initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon earlier this month.

As the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he strives to continue the process of the Abraham Accords and achieve peace with more Arab countries.

In a speech on the opening day of the winter session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Netanyahu said Israel's priority is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. "Stopping the Iranian nuclear program is at the forefront of our minds," he said.

Netanyahu noted that his country maintains "a continuous dialogue" with the United States, but "makes the choice of targets and objectives ourselves, according to our interests and considerations".

The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, normalized Israel's relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.

Meanwhile, the Israeli parliament on Monday passed a law prohibiting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israel.

"As it is proven that UNRWA and its employees participate and are involved in terrorist activity against Israel, it is proposed to establish that Israel will act to stop all activities of the agency in its territory," the explanatory notes to the law read.

In a post on X, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA, said the vote against the agency "is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent".

"It opposes the UN Charter and violates the State of Israel's obligations under international law ... These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell," he wrote.