Photo: An injured Palestinian girl is accompanied by a woman at the Nasser hospital following Israeli bombardment on Khan Younis in southern Gaza as Israeli attacks continue to hit the tiny enclave. / Photo: AFP
Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 314th day, has killed at least 40,005 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounded over 92,401 others, with 10,000+ estimated to be buried under debris of bombed buildings.
Pressure soared for a Gaza ceasefire to be agreed at talks that resumed in Qatar, aiming to stop the spread of Israel’s brutal war on the besieged enclave that has killed at least over 40,000 Palestinians.
A source with knowledge of the talks confirmed to AFP that they had begun in the Qatari capital Doha.
The source did not disclose whether Hamas had dispatched any delegates to the talks which Israel and CIA director William Burns planned to attend.
The war has drawn in Iran-aligned groups from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
Egypt is co-operating with Qatar and the US to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap deal, a high-level Egyptian source told state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses an extraordinary session of the Turkish Parliament during an official visit to Ankara
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Abbas told Turkish parliament he will go to Gaza
Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas told a special session of the Turkish parliament that he would travel to Gaza.
“I have decided to go to Gaza with other brothers from the Palestinian leadership,” Abbas said in an address applauded by Turkish lawmakers.
“I will do that. Even if this would cost my life. Our life is not more worthy than the life of a child,” he added.
130 killed in war-torn Gaza every day: UN rights chief
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned the ongoing Israeli war in the besieged Gaza, revealing that nearly 130 people have died daily since October 7.
“On average, about 130 people have been killed every day in Gaza over the past 10 months. The scale of the Israeli military’s destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship is deeply shocking,” Turk said.
Turk stressed that the “unimaginable situation” in the besieged enclave is overwhelmingly due to the recurring failures of the Israeli army to comply with the rules of war.
Pope Francis urges ceasefire
Pope Francis voiced deep concern over the escalating war in Gaza on the day the death toll from the 10-month Israeli offensive climbed above 40,000 Palestinians killed.
After leading a prayer at St Peter’s Square for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Francis took a moment to reflect on various global conflicts. But he placed particular emphasis on the situation in Gaza, where ongoing violence has led to a humanitarian crisis.
“I continue to follow the humanitarian situation in Gaza with concern,” Francis said. “Once again, I demand a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, the release of hostages, and assistance to the exhausted population. I urge everyone to make every effort to prevent the conflict from expanding and to pursue the path of negotiation to bring this tragedy to an end as soon as possible. Let us not forget that war is a defeat.”
TRT World
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