Situation remains tense, death toll in Gaza Strip exceeds 40,000 – Xinhua

In addition, fears are growing throughout the Middle East that the conflict could spread and escalate into a comprehensive regional war.

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — The number of Palestinian deaths from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has exceeded 40,000 since the current wave of conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7, health authorities in the Gaza Strip confirmed on Thursday.

With the additional 40 deaths in the last 24 hours, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,005.

This tragic milestone comes at a time when the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hamas is already entering its tenth month and the humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave is deteriorating.

So far, the Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for about 305 square kilometers, or nearly 84 percent of the Gaza Strip, according to an update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Monday.

Since July 4, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has registered 21 attacks on schools serving as emergency shelters in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 274 people, including women and children, the update said.

According to the UN office, water, food and fuel supplies in the Gaza Strip are critically low, while diseases such as hepatitis A continue to spread throughout the Strip.

“Two out of three buildings in Gaza are damaged or destroyed,” said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, on the social media platform X. “This includes people's homes, schools, markets and places of worship. The once close-knit community and kinship are being torn apart before our eyes day by day.”

In addition, fears are growing throughout the Middle East that the conflict could spread and escalate into a comprehensive regional war.

Iran and its allies vowed revenge for the killings of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and senior Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shokor in Beirut. Both murders occurred in late July.

In view of possible retaliatory strikes by Iran and its allies, Israel is monitoring the situation “with all means,” said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari on Monday. “We are on high alert, both offensively and defensively.”

Amid rising regional tensions, mediators of the fragile Gaza ceasefire talks, including Qatar, Egypt and the United States, urged Israel and Hamas on August 8 not to delay the drafting of a ceasefire agreement. Israel is expected to send a delegation to the latest round of talks on Thursday, while Hamas called for the implementation of already approved plans rather than further negotiations or putting forward new proposals.

It is noteworthy, for example, that a few days before the planned ceasefire talks in Qatar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved the sale of fighter jets and other military equipment worth 20 billion US dollars to Israel, thereby strengthening the country's military strength.

In a speech to the UN Security Council earlier this month, Dai Bing, charge d'affaires of China's permanent mission to the United Nations, called on all parties to respond to the “overwhelming consensus of the international community” and work together for the “full and effective” implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions to achieve an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, end the humanitarian catastrophe and prevent the conflict from escalating.

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

Despite US President Joe Biden's claim on Tuesday that an Iranian attack on Israel could be averted if Israel and Hamas managed to reach a ceasefire agreement, the outcome of Thursday's talks – which many are calling the “last chance” for a ceasefire – remains uncertain.■