(12 Nov 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Southern Israel, looking into Gaza Strip - 12 November 2023
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Various of explosions seen in distance over Gaza skyline
STORYLINE:
Explosions were seen on the Gaza skyline late on Sunday as Israeli troops continue their military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has come under mounting international pressure even from its closest ally, the United States, as the war enters a sixth week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected urgent international calls for a cease-fire unless it includes the release of all the nearly 240 hostages captured by Hamas in the Oct. 7 rampage that triggered the war.
Muhammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza, said the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza has been unable to update the death toll since Friday as medics are unable to reach areas hit by Israeli bombardment.
About 2.3 million Palestinians remain trapped in the besieged territory.
The war is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides.
More than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths.
The ministry is the only official source for Gaza casualties. In previous wars, the ministry's counts have held up to U.N. scrutiny, independent investigations and even Israel's tallies.
At least 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas attack. Forty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began.
The conflict started after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip blew through Israel's highly fortified separation wall on October 7, and attacked an open-air music festival and Israeli border communities.
They killed scores of people and abducted men, women, and children - including elderly and disabled.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group, openly calls for the destruction of Israel.
Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sealed it off from food, fuel and other supplies in retaliation for the bloody incursion, vowing to destroy the militant group.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected].
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
