Gaza Death Toll Rises To 57,700 As Hamas Release 10 Captives
Not less than 57,680 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the besieged enclave’s Health Ministry said Wednesday.
A ministry statement said that 105 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, with 530 people injured, taking the number of injuries to 137,409 in the Israeli onslaught.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
Israel resumed attacks on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has since killed 7,118 victims and injured 25,368, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Hamas to free 10 captives
Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the group is prepared to free 10 abductees to ensure the unhindered flow of desperately needed aid into Gaza and stop Israeli attacks.
Al-Nunu said the group agreed to the latest truce proposal and “offered the necessary flexibility to protect our people, stop the crime of genocide, and allow the free and dignified entry and flow of aid to our people until we reach a complete end to the war”.
Negotiations are under way on two key issues: the unfettered entry of aid and “mechanisms” aimed at the forced displacement of Palestinians, he added.
Israeli troop withdrawal lines in the first phase of a ceasefire should be drawn up in a way that does not affect Palestinian lives and “paves the way for the second phase of negotiations”.
Europe not doing enough to stop genocide – Spain
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday accused Israel of committing genocide in Palestine and said Europe is not doing enough to try to stop it.
“No one that tramples on the EU’s founding principles – or that uses hunger and war to annihilate a legitimate state – can be a partner of the European Union,” he said.
Speaking before the Spanish parliament, Sanchez criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, saying its actions would be remembered “as one of the darkest episodes of the 21st century.”
“The horrifying images of children searching for their families under rubble, or dying of hunger in tents, should not only move us and shame us – they should compel the international community, and Europe in particular, to act,” he added.
He said Spain and Ireland first requested the EU to assess Israel’s compliance with the EU-Israel Association Agreement in February 2024.
“We had to push hard for that analysis to be carried out,” he added.
Sanchez said the EU’s special representative presented the report to foreign ministers on June 23, concluding that there were “more than sufficient indications” that Israel had violated Article 2 of the agreement, which links cooperation with respect for human rights.
While the EU has not taken any action against Israel, Sanchez said Spain is pushing for the immediate suspension of the agreement.
“What we denounce (Russian President Vladimir) Putin for doing in Ukraine, we cannot allow Netanyahu to do in Palestine,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on European countries that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine to follow France’s lead, after French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his support for statehood.
In a rare address to both houses of the British Parliament on Tuesday, Macron urged the UK to support the recognition of Palestine as part of efforts to revive a political process toward a two-state solution.
The ministry noted Macron “reiterated the importance of achieving an immediate ceasefire and allowing aid to end the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on European countries that have not recognised the State of Palestine to support the French position and recognise the independent Palestinian state in accordance with its political and legal obligations to find a just solution to the Palestinian issue.”
