The essentials of the watch

  • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza, where the "intensive" phase of the war against Hamas "will end soon" in the southern Palestinian territory, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced. One of the four Israeli divisions engaged in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ground offensive on October 27 withdrew in the evening, the army said.

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  • The Israeli army carried out airstrikes and artillery bombardments on the southern Gaza towns of Khan Younis and Rafah. More than 60 Palestinians were killed in the enclave as a result of the "intense" Israeli bombardment carried out overnight Sunday, according to a statement from the Hamas government. Since Oct. 7, 24,100 Palestinians have lost their lives and 60,834 have been injured in Gaza, according to the Islamist group's health ministry.

  • A woman was killed and at least 17 others wounded in a vehicular attack in the central Israeli city of Ra'anana, emergency services and Israeli police said, adding that they had arrested two Palestinian suspects.

The number of casualties is provided by Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health

The ministry collects information from hospitals in the enclave and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Gaza's health ministry does not say how Palestinians were killed, either by Israeli airstrikes and/or barrages or failed Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all victims as victims of "Israeli aggression" and also makes no distinction between civilians and combatants.

During the four wars and the numerous clashes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have regularly cited Health Ministry figures in their reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society also use these figures.

In the aftermath of previous episodes of war, the United Nations Humanitarian Office published casualty figures based on its own research into medical records. The UN figures are largely in agreement with those of Gaza's Ministry of Health, with a few differences.

To read more about Gaza's Ministry of Health's assessments, click here or here.

(France 24 with AP)

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