Hamas Say Gaza War Death Toll Nears 15,000

Palestinian children wounded in Israeli strikes are brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)
Palestinian children wounded in Israeli strikes are brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)
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Hamas Say Gaza War Death Toll Nears 15,000

Palestinian children wounded in Israeli strikes are brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)
Palestinian children wounded in Israeli strikes are brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud)

Hamas said Thursday the death toll in the Palestinian territory had reached 14,854 since war began on October 7.

The Hamas government said 6,150 children and 4,000 women were among the dead, with another 36,000 people wounded.

The health ministry has previously said it can no longer give exact tolls as intense fighting has prevented bodies from being recovered, according to AFP.

Meanwhile, a four-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect early Friday.

The cease-fire kicked off at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and is to last at least four days. During this period Hamas pledged to free at least 50 of the about 240 hostages it and other fighters took on Oct. 7. Hamas said Israel would free 150 Palestinian prisoners.
Both sides will release women and children first. Israel said the truce would be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages freed.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.