There is no distinction in the death toll between combatants and non-combatants, and it has not been possible to independently verify the number of casualties within the Palestinian territory.
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It’s 8:22am in Gaza and Tel Aviv, welcome to our latest Guardian live blog on the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis. I’m Reged Ahmad and I’ll be with you for the next while.
The Hamas-run health ministry has issued their latest death toll in Gaza and says more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war between Hamas and Israel began nearly five months ago, Agence France-Presse reports. The figure doesn’t distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and can’t be independently verified.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday the group is showing flexibility in negotiations with Israel but at the same time it was ready to continue fighting. Another Hamas official, Basem Naim, told Al Jazeera “The gap is still wide”. The two sides have been negotiating around a draft framework that would reportedly see a six week pause in fighting and the release of hostages held in captivity by Hamas for Palestinians who have been detained by Israel.
Qatar has accused Israel of facilitating “the deliberate starvation of the Palestinian people” and called on the international community to apply more pressure on Israel, saying it was “painful” that the delivery of aid was still an issue. Foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said “There are two and a half million people living in complete absence of health and emergency services. Aid should be freely provided without restrictions.”
Israel’s military has claimed it struck “eight significant terror targets” in Gaza overnight which it said had been responsible for rockets fired towards the Israeli city of Ashkelon. The IDF also announced that two further soldiers had been killed during its ground operation inside Gaza.
Houthi leaders have denied they have targeted critical underwater sea telecommunication cables, as Yemen’s UN recognised government warned of an imminent marine environmental disaster if a cargo ship struck by the rebels last week was not quickly rescued. The stricken Belize-flagged Rubymar, which was en route from the UAE to Europe via the Red Sea when she was hit by a Houthi attack, has been drifting and begun to sink.
A German naval frigate sent to protect commercial ships in the Red Sea nearly shot down a US drone by mistake, German media reported Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse. The German defence ministry confirmed a drone incident involving an allied nation occurred on Monday, without naming the country. The “Hesse” frigate opened fire after efforts to identify an unknown drone “were unsuccessful”, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to the German town of Oberviechtach, adding however that the target was “not hit”.
Families of some of the hostages still being held…
2024-02-29 01:25:01
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