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Gaza authorities say 700 Palestinians killed in overnight strikes
Gaza's health ministry says at least 5,791 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes since Oct. 7
Reuters
October 24, 2023
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 24. PHOTO: REUTERS
JERUSALEM/ GAZA: More than 700 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli air strikes, Gaza's health ministry said on Tuesday, the highest 24-hour death toll since Israel began a bombing campaign to crush Hamas fighters who stunned the country with a deadly Oct. 7 attack.
Israel said it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters in the overnight strikes on the besieged enclave but said its war to destroy the Islamist group would take time.
As aid agencies warned that a humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron flew to Israel to offer it support.
He told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that France stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Israel in its war with Hamas while also saying it must not fight "without rules".
The United Nations urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, saying the aid let in so far met a tiny fraction of the needs of the beleaguered population. Fuel, still blocked, was crucial.
"We are on our knees asking for that sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operation," said Dr Rick Brennan, WHO Regional Emergencies Director.