Israel pounded targets in the crowded southern half of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and ordered more neighbourhoods designated for attack to evacuate, driving up the death toll even as the United States and others urged it to do more to protect Gaza civilians.
At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed on Friday morning following a weeklong truce with the territory’s ruling militant group Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
Separately, the ministry announced that the overall death toll in Gaza since the October 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 15,200, a sharp jump from the previous count of more than 13,300. The ministry had stopped issuing daily updates of the overall toll on November 11, following war-related disruptions of connectivity and hospital operations.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but said on Saturday that 70 per cent of the dead were women and children. It said more than 40,000 people