The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday (August 18, 2024) that at least 40,099 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory in more than 10 months of war with Israel.
The toll includes 25 deaths over the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also listed 92,609 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7.
Meanwhile, United States secretary of state Anthony Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for a Gaza cease-fire deal. Hamas has rejected Israel’s demands for a lasting military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border and a line bisecting Gaza where Israeli forces would search Palestinians returning to their homes. Israel says both are needed to prevent militants from rearming and returning to the north.
Published - August 18, 2024 04:03 pm IST