More Than 13,000 People Have Died in Gaza, Officials Say

A Palestinian youth walks inside a shrapnel-riddled building damaged in an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on November 23, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
A Palestinian youth walks inside a shrapnel-riddled building damaged in an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on November 23, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
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More Than 13,000 People Have Died in Gaza, Officials Say

A Palestinian youth walks inside a shrapnel-riddled building damaged in an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on November 23, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)
A Palestinian youth walks inside a shrapnel-riddled building damaged in an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on November 23, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

The director of the Health Ministry in Gaza said it has resumed its detailed count of casualties from the Israel-Hamas war, and has documented more than 13,000 deaths.
Medhat Abbas confirmed the resumption to The Associated Press on Thursday.
The Health Ministry had stopped updating its figures on Nov. 11 after the breakdown of access and communication in northern Gaza, where Israeli ground troops are battling Hamas fighters.
The latest count is based on updated figures from hospitals in the south and Nov. 11 figures from the northern hospitals. The real toll is likely higher.
The Health Ministry said another 6,000 people have been reported missing, and are feared buried under the rubble.



Sinwar Says Hamas Ready for 'Long War of Attrition'

FILE PHOTO: A billboard with a picture of newly appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is displayed on a building in a street in Tehran, Iran, August 12, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A billboard with a picture of newly appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is displayed on a building in a street in Tehran, Iran, August 12, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Sinwar Says Hamas Ready for 'Long War of Attrition'

FILE PHOTO: A billboard with a picture of newly appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is displayed on a building in a street in Tehran, Iran, August 12, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A billboard with a picture of newly appointed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is displayed on a building in a street in Tehran, Iran, August 12, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said on Monday the Palestinian group was prepared for prolonged fighting against Israel, in a message to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias nearly a year into the Gaza war.

"We have prepared ourselves to fight a long war of attrition that will break the enemy's political will," the Hamas leader said, according to Agence France Presse.

He asserted that the militants in Gaza and allied Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen would defeat Israel.

The message followed a rare missile attack on central Israel on Sunday claimed by the Houthis.

The attack caused no casualties but sparked vows of retaliation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sinwar said in the message addressed to Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi: "I congratulate you on your success in sending your missiles deep into the enemy entity, bypassing all layers and defense and interception systems."

The Houthis said they had "penetrated" Israel's air defenses, while Israel said the missile likely fragmented mid-air but was not destroyed.

"Our combined efforts with you" and with groups in Lebanon and Iraq "will break this enemy and inflict defeat on it," Sinwar added.