The Zionist offensive has killed at least 48, people in Gaza, the majority civilians. The confirmed number of dead published by the Gaza health ministry has continued to rise daily as bodies are discovered under the rubble, victims are identified or people die from wounds sustained earlier in the war.
Over the last 48 hours, 26 deaths were recorded and more than earlier deaths had been confirmed, according to the ministry. It said a total of , people have been wounded during the war, which began in Oct A study published in early January in the British medical journal The Lancet estimated the death toll in Gaza due to hostilities during the first nine months of the was about 40 percent higher than the figures recorded by the Gaza health ministry.
Representative Gregory Meeks, ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, denounced what he termed a decision to break with a long-standing precedent for congressional review of major weapons sales. He said he had been discussing his concerns about the sale with the administration, which had failed to provide significant documentation or justification.
The fifth captive-prisoner exchange since the truce took effect last month comes as negotiations are set to begin on the next phase of the ceasefire, which should pave the way for a permanent end to the war. Jubilant crowds in Tel Aviv cheered as they watched live footage of the three captives, flanked by masked gunmen, brought on stage in Deir el-Balah before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The choreographed handover included statements from the three on stage, in which they stated support for finalizing the next phases of the Zionist-Hamas truce. In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority, relatives and supporters gathered to welcome inmates released by the Zionist entity, embracing them and cheering as they stepped off the bus that brought them from nearby Ofer prison.
