Month After War on Gaza: Palestinian Deaths Top Russia-Ukraine War Toll

A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
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Month After War on Gaza: Palestinian Deaths Top Russia-Ukraine War Toll

A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)
A damaged road after Israeli forces stormed the Jenin camp in the West Bank on Sunday (Reuters)

The number of deaths one month since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza reached frightening numbers as the situation becomes increasingly horrifying, portending more victims.

Israel announced the war could be extended for several months, perhaps even a year.

Palestinian sources confirmed that the number of Palestinians killed in one month exceeded the number of deaths in the Ukraine war, which reached 9,806 victims over nearly two years.

Palestinian health authorities said the death toll from Israeli strikes had exceeded 10,328, while Israel estimates their number at more than 20,000, including 4,237 children and 2,716 women, in addition to 25,956 injuries.

More than 120,000 homes were destroyed and about 1.2 million citizens were displaced.

In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel killed 220 people, arrested 2,215 others, and demolished 120 homes.

According to Israeli reports, the number of deaths is more than that of the 1967 war that Israel fought against three Arab armies, with 779 deaths, including 850 civilians and 5,500 injuries.

The Israeli government evacuated 115,000 residents, while about 109,000 decided to leave from 29 settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip and 22 others on the Lebanese border.

According to the Israelis, the war began in response to Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, and the capturing of 240 Israelis and foreigners as hostages.

Israel officially declared war on Hamas to “annihilate” the movement and terminate its ability to rule and its military capabilities.

Tel Aviv admitted it had taken a new form of warfare, bombing Gaza without mercy from afar, using the air force, navy, artillery, and tanks to destroy any place where Hamas leaders or any of its armed members were located, even if it was crowded among civilians.

It claims Hamas leaders are using civilians as human shields. As a result of these claims, Israel has bombed hospitals and schools.

Three weeks into this terrible bombing, the Israeli army began a ground operation searching for Hamas leaders and kidnapped Israelis.

Israel insists that the attack has nothing to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that the movement is pursuing a brutal path in its war against Jewish civilians and even Muslim Arabs.

In response, Palestinians say Israel has been insisting on besieging the Gaza Strip for 16 years, and from time to time, launched a military operation in which it destroys the enclave, killing thousands of Palestinians and exacerbating the economic and social situation there.

They said Israel continues its occupation of the West Bank and Judaization of Jerusalem with massive settlement projects, violating the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque. It carries out widespread arrests and degrades prisoners.

Moreover, Tel Aviv allows settlers to carry out bloody criminal attacks on Palestinians and denies their rights.

- The hysteric Israeli response

Palestinians said the Hamas attack came within the framework of resistance to the occupation’s projects, describing the Israeli response as hysterical because Tel Aviv did not imagine Palestinians were capable of penetrating their fortified defenses and carry out a successful military attack.

They added that Israel wants to implement its old plans to destroy Gaza and deport its people to Egypt, with the hope of expelling the Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan later.

Palestinians called the war the second Nakba, saying the Israeli army drops a thousand tons of explosives every day to implement those goals, with the support of the US administration and Western governments.

The US and the West are not fulfilling their moral and humanitarian duty to deter the Israeli war of annihilation, they stressed.



Islamabad: 50,000 Pakistanis Are Missing in Iraq

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
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Islamabad: 50,000 Pakistanis Are Missing in Iraq

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)
Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala. (EPA)

Pakistan’s Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain sparked controversy when he revealed that 50,000 Pakistanis have gone missing in Iraq over the years.

He urged the Baghdad government to immediately launch a probe into how the Pakistanis entered Iraq to visit religious sites during the month of Muharram, he was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Ummat newspaper.

Islamabad is investigating how people have traveled outside Pakistan through illegal means, he remarked.

The permanent committee for religious affairs and interfaith harmony has since proposed new policies for trips to holy sites in foreign countries, including Iraq.

In Iraq, the minister’s comments drew mockery and condemnation on social media and sparked renewed debate over illegal workers in the country.

Politician Mishaan al-Juburi urged the government to make a statement over Hussain’s comments, warning that they may impact security and the labor force.

Hussain’s comments coincided with Iraqi police announcing the arrest of six Pakistanis in Baghdad on charges of theft.

Previously, military intelligence also announced the arrest of a nine-member Pakistani kidnapping and extortion gang in Baghdad. The gang had kidnapped foreigners for ransom.

Meanwhile, Labor Minister Ahmed al-Asadi expressed his concern and condemnation over the increasing number of illegal workers in Iraq.

He said his ministry will investigate the disappearance of the Pakistanis.

He confirmed that several tourists, including Pakistanis, have flocked to Iraq in recent days, and many have taken up employment without the necessary legal permits.

He warned that this phenomenon is negatively impacting the national economy.

The ministry will not be lenient in taking the necessary legal measures against the violators, he vowed.

Iraq welcomes all tourists, whether they are here on a religious visit or otherwise, but they must respect local laws and regulations, declared Asadi.

Every year, millions of Shiites flock to religious sites in Iraq’s Najaf and Karbala.