GAZA STRIP, 20 Nov. - (ANA) - At least 13,000 Palestinians, including 5,500 children have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Press Office said. 

 

The Hamas-run government said 3,500 women were among the dead, with 32,300 more people wounded. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza said the number of missing people had risen to more than 3,750, including 1,800 children still under the rubble. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced, this Friday evening, that the number of martyrs has risen to 11,675 martyrs, and the wounded to about 32,000 wounded,

 

According to a UN official, there have been "likely much more" casualties in "Israel's" war on Gaza than the previously reported total of over 11,000, because there have been insufficient updates since the area's communication networks collapsed. Martin Griffiths, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator expressed during a General Assembly meeting that as casualty numbers continue to climb, "The actual total, however, is likely much higher as figures have not been updated for five days due to a collapse of communication networks in Gaza."

 

Israel revised down the death toll from the October Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1,400 to 1,200. IDF had said previously it was holding 1,500 bodies of terrorists, a total that now would increas to about 1,700.

 

Israeli army (IDF) announced 19 November 2023 the death of five of its soldiers during ground battles in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of casualties since October 7th to 378 and raising the number of troop deaths there to 64 since the ground war began.

 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry released its first official casualty numbers in fighting, saying 77 people were killed and 251 wounded since the start of the war on Gaza.

 

Some 240 hostages are being held by HAMAS in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said 03 November 2023. About 40 Israelis remained missing.

 

Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said on Hamas’ telegram account that 23 bodies of the 60 missing Israel hostages were trapped under the rubble. “It seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza,” he said.

 

Hamas previously announced that the number of prisoners it held was between 200 and 250 Israelis, and others of other nationalities, during the “ Al-Aqsa Flood ” battle launched by the Al-Qassam Brigades on the 7th of last October. Hamas indicated that among the detainees were “high-ranking military personnel” and that it wanted to exchange them for more than 6,000 Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, in Israeli prisons, but Tel Aviv did not show seriousness in concluding such a deal. The movement released 4 female prisoners “for humanitarian reasons”, two women holding American citizenship, in response to Qatari mediation efforts, and two Israelis, with Egyptian-Qatari mediation. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/20 November 2023 — - -