Gaza deaths pass 44,000, as US pushes for Lebanon truce

Dozens of people were killed or unaccounted for after Israeli strikes on Gaza, as the total dead toll passed 44,000, according to Hamas.

One strike near the Kamal Adwan hospital in the north of the territory left "dozens of people" dead or missing, according to the facility's director Hossam Abu Safiya.

The process of retrieving the wounded and the dead continues, he said, adding: "Bodies arrive at the hospital in pieces."

Another strike was reported in Gaza City.

"We can confirm that 22 martyrs were transferred (to hospital) after a strike targeted a house", the civil defence said.

Since Hamas conducted the deadliest in Israeli history on 7 October, 2023, Israel has been relentlessly bombarding Gaza, which the militant group rules.

The Hamas government's health ministry said today that at least 44,056 people have been killed, mostly civilians. The United Nations considers the figures to be reliable.

The toll includes 71 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said that 104,268 people have been wounded.

Israel is also fighting Hamas ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are backed by Israel's arch-foe Iran.

US envoy Amos Hochstein will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek a truce in the war in Lebanon.

Mr Hochstein's meetings in Lebanon this week appeared to indicate some progress in efforts to end that war.

His trip comes as judges at the International Criminal Court in the Hague issue arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Yesterday, the United States vetoed a UN Security Council push for a ceasefire in Gaza that Washington claimed would have emboldened Hamas.

'Freedom to act'

Following the 7 October attack, Hezbollah began launching cross-border strikes on Israel in support of its ally Hamas.

In September, Israel expanded the focus of its war from Gaza to Lebanon, vowing to fight Hezbollah until tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by the cross-border fire are able to return home.

Today, rocket fire from Lebanon hit a playground in northern Israel, killing one man, Israeli first responders said.

With Mr Hochstein in Lebanon, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that any ceasefire deal must ensure that Israel still has the "freedom to act" against Hezbollah.

In a defiant speech, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem threatened to strike the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv in retaliation for attacks on Lebanon's capital.

"Israel cannot defeat us and cannot impose its conditions on us," Mr Qassem said in his televised address.

In Lebanon, Mr Hochstein met with officials including parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.

More than 3,558 people in Lebanon have been killed since the clashes began, authorities have said, with the majority of deaths occurring since late September. Among them were more than 200 children, according to the United Nations.

Israel has also intensified strikes on neighbouring Syria, the main conduit of weapons for Hezbollah from Iran.

In the latest attack, a Syria war monitor said 71 pro-Iran fighters were killed in strikes on Palmyra in the east of the country.

Strikes in Lebanon

Israeli missiles hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hezbollah's main bastion, following evacuation calls by the Israeli military today.

One post on X by Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed that the military had targeted "terrorist command headquarters and Hezbollah military infrastructure" in the area.

Strikes also hit south Lebanon, including the border town of Khiam where Israeli troops are pushing to advance, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.

Yesterday, Israel said three soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon bringing total Israeli military deaths to 52 since the start of ground operations on 30 September.

A total of 82 Israeli soldiers and 47 civilians have died since hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel began 13 months ago.