The death toll in the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict has exceeded 46,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Thursday. The 15-month war has devastation the region’s infrastructure and displaced nearly all of Gaza’s population.
Despite international mediation, efforts toward a ceasefire remain stalled.
Why It Matters
Approximately 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have displaced multiple times. The war has engulfed the region, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence. Gaza’s Health Ministry claims that women and children make up more than half of the fatalities.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials say over 17,000 Hamas militants have been killed by the IDF, a figure they have not substantiated with evidence. Aid shortages and harsh winter conditions have worsened the humanitarian crisis.
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What to Know
Decades of deep-seated conflict between Israelis and Palestinians came to a head Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people, predominantly civilians, and taking more than 250 hostages.
Israel responded with an incessant, large-scale military campaign. Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza killed at least 17 people late Tuesday, nearly all of them women or children. Reports emerged towards the end of 2024 of small children dying hypothermia in the Gaza Strip as their families huddle in tents for warmth.
Despite reports of the contrary, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies hindering humanitarian aid and claims to have facilitated hundreds of truckloads of supplies to Gaza in recent weeks. Despite this, local officials report acute shortages of food, clean water, and medical supplies, with hospitals overwhelmed by casualties.
Decimated infrastructure means some Palestinian hospital patients are being transported to other countries for treatment––45 patients left the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis last week to receive treatment in the United Arab Emirates.
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Israel Demands Hamas Dismantling Before Ceasefire
Mediators from Qatar, the U.S., and Egypt have made some progress in ceasefire negotiations, but no deal has been finalized. Talks in Qatar have focused on narrowing long-standing gaps between Hamas and Israel, with both sides unwilling to compromise on key demands.
Hamas has stated it will only release hostages if Israel ends the war and withdraws troops from Gaza. Israel, in turn, has said it will not halt its offensive until all hostages are freed and Hamas is dismantled.
Israeli forces have since recovered the body of one Israeli hostage, Youssef Al-Ziyadna, and suspect his son Hamza, also abducted, may be deceased. Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to recovering all hostages, stating, “We will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.”
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What People Are Saying
“There are extensive negotiations,” a Palestinian official involved in the talks told Reuters on Thursday. “There is a breakthrough when it comes to narrowing old existing gaps, but there is no deal yet.”
President-elect Donald Trump has warned Hamas there will be “hell to pay” if hostages are not released before his January 20 inauguration. Current U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed cautious optimism earlier this week, saying talks are “very close” but acknowledging the complexity of securing a lasting agreement as President Joe Biden and his team exit the White House.
“What we are living is not a life. Nobody could bear the situation we’re experiencing for a single day,” said Munawar al-Bik, a displaced woman from Gaza City. “We wake up at night to the sounds of men crying because of the bad situation.”
What’s Next
As ceasefire talks continue, the international community has called for an immediate humanitarian pause to deliver critical aid. U.S., Arab, and Qatari negotiators are working to secure an agreement before President-elect Trump’s inauguration, but the entrenched demands of both sides leave little room for compromise.
“The situation is unbearable,” said al-Bik. We have no energy left: we want it to end today.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
