A former Israeli army commander, Herzi Halevi, has confirmed that more than 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured in the war in Gaza, and that “not once” in the course of the conflict were military operations inhibited by legal advice.
Halevi stepped down as chief of staff in March after leading the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for the first 17 months of the war, which is now approaching its second anniversary.
The retired general told a community meeting in southern Israel earlier this week that more than 10% of Gaza’s 2.2 million population had been killed or injured – “more than 200,000 people”. That estimate is notable as it is close to the current figures provided by Gaza’s health ministry, which Israeli officials have frequently dismissed as Hamas propaganda, though the ministry figures have been deemed reliable by international humanitarian agencies.
The current official toll is 64,718 Palestinians killed in Gaza and 163,859 injured, since the start of the war on 7 October 2023. Many thousands more are feared dead, with their bodies buried in the rubble. At least 40 people were reported killed on Friday in Israeli strikes, mostly around Gaza City.
International Glance
In the early hours of December 27, 2024, the walls of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza shook as Israeli forces dropped bombs nearby. By sunrise, bulldozers had flattened the earth leading to the entrance and Israeli tanks were closing in. Snipers surrounded the complex. Inside, 350 patients, doctors, nurses and their families huddled in the hallways.
Ukraine reclaimed 62sq km (24sq miles) of territory last month, its commander in chief revealed on Monday, contradicting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent claim to be advancing “in all directions”.
Why does the PM insist on blowing up any deal that comes close?” despaired the mother of a hostage held in Gaza, following Israel’s airstrike in Qatar on Tuesday. For anyone who doubted Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to the forever war he unleashed after 7 October, the attempt to wipe out Hamas’s ceasefire negotiation team in Doha offered grim confirmation that peace – and the return of Israeli hostages – is low on Mr Netanyahu’s list of current priorities.
Brazil's Supreme Court has reached a majority vote to convict former President Jair Bolsonaro, with three of the five justices on the panel voting to find him guilty of attempting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election.
Qatar has slammed Israel's attack targeting Hamas leaders on its soil as an act of "state terrorism" after an upscale suburb in its capital, Doha, was rocked with explosions that killed six people and dashed hopes of a ceasefire in Gaza, where the Gulf Arab state is a mediator.





























