Renewed violence, more civilian deaths mark war milestone
Hamas on Sunday released video footage it claimed showed three hostages alive in its custody in Gaza
The Israel-Hamas war reached a grim milestone of 100 days on Sunday, with more civilian deaths in Gaza, and relatives of dozens of Israeli hostages still awaiting their freedom.
There were also casualties in the West Bank and on the Israel-Lebanon border.
And Hamas on Sunday released video footage it claimed showed three hostages alive in its custody in Gaza after being taken to the territory during the October 7 attack on Israel. In the video, one woman and two men, speaking in Hebrew, call on the Israeli authorities to act to secure their return home. It was unclear when the footage was filmed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue the war in Gaza despite mounting international pressure to wrap up the conflict and persistent demands at home for him to give priority to the return of hostages still held by Hamas. Since October 7, when Hamas-led militants killed about 1200 people in a surprise attack and kidnapped more than 200 others, according to Israeli officials, more than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, Palestinian authorities say, a number that doesn’t distinguish combatants from civilians.
In a brutal marking of 100 days of the war, intense fighting unfolded across the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli military struck Maghazi in the central region, Beit Lahia in the north and Khan Younis in the south.
On the Israel-Lebanon border, which has seen regular exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hamas ally Hezbollah, the Israeli army said it killed three gunmen who had crossed the frontier and “fired at the forces”.
Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in separate incidents in the disputed West Bank on Sunday, including two shot dead when their car broke through a checkpoint at Hebron.
AFP
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