Tensions Remain High As Gaza Death Toll Surpasses 40,000

(MENAFN- Nam News Network) BEIJING, Aug 16 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Palestinian death toll from Israeli barbaric attacks on the Gaza Strip, since the outbreak of the current round of the Israeli-Hamas conflict began on Oct 7, last year, has surpassed 40,000, Gaza-based health authorities confirmed, yesterday.

With an additional 40 people killed over the past 24 hours, the death toll in Gaza has risen to 40,005.

The tragic milestone comes, as the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hamas entered its 10th month, while the humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave has been worsening.

So far, about 305 square kilometres, or nearly 84 percent of the Gaza Strip, have been placed under evacuation orders, by the Zionist military, according to an update released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on Monday.

Since Jul 4, the UN Human Rights Office recorded 21 strikes against schools, serving as shelters in the Strip, which resulted in at least 274 fatalities, mostly women and children.

Water, food and fuel supplies in Gaza are critically low, while diseases like Hepatitis A, continue to spread across the strip, according to the UN office.

“Two out of every three buildings in Gaza are damaged or destroyed,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said.“These include people's homes, schools, markets, and places of worship. The once closely-knit society and kinship are being torn apart day by day, under our watch.”

There is also growing fear across the Middle East that, the conflict could spill over and escalate into a full-scale regional war.

Iran and its allies vowed to revenge for the killings of Hamas Politburo chief, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah senior military commander, Fouad Shokor in Beirut, both in late July.

In face of potential retaliatory strikes from Iran and its allies, Israel is monitoring the situation“with all capabilities,” the Zionist spokesman, Daniel Hagari said Monday.“We are at the highest state of readiness in both offense and defense.”

Amid heightened regional tensions, mediators of the fragile Gaza ceasefire talks, including Qatar, Egypt and the United States, urged Israel and Hamas on Aug 8, not to delay finalising a ceasefire agreement. Israel sent a delegation to the latest round of talks yesterday, while Hamas called for the implementation of previously approved plans, rather than engaging in further negotiations or introducing new proposals.

Notably, days before the scheduled ceasefire talks in Qatar, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, approved a 20-billion-U.S. dollar sale of fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel, boosting the country's military capability.

Addressing the UN Security Council earlier this month, Dai Bing, charge d'affaires of China's Permanent Mission to the UN, called on all parties, to respond to the“overwhelming consensus of the international community” and to jointly promote the“full and effective” implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions, to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, to put an end to the humanitarian catastrophe and to contain spillover of the conflict.

On Monday, leaders of France, Germany and Britain issued a joint statement, calling for an immediate ceasefire, release of all hostages, and the delivery and distribution of aid to Gaza.

Despite President Biden's claim on Tuesday that, an Iranian attack on Israel could be averted, if Israel and Hamas manage to reach a ceasefire deal, the outcome of yesterday's negotiations – dubbed by many as the“last chance” for a truce – remains uncertain.– NNN-XINHUA

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