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Gaza/Jerusalem, October 19 (IANS) The death toll in the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict is nearing 5,000, with thousands of others injured and displaced as a result of the violence which continued for the 13th day on Thursday.
In its latest situation update, the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA) said the death toll in Israel as of Thursday morning stood at 1,400, which included foreign nationals, as Palestinian armed groups’ continued indiscriminate rocket firing towards Israeli population centres.
The number of injured increased to 4,562.
According to the OCHA, Israel's death toll is over threefold the cumulative number of Israelis killed since the Office began recording casualties in 2005 (nearly 400).
Meawhile, at least 199 people are currently being held captive in Gaza, it added.
Citing the Palestinian Health Ministry based in Gaza, the OCHA said that the death toll in Gaza has increased to 3,478, including 853 children, with about 12,500 others injured.
The UN agency said the deadly bombing at Al Ahli Arab Baptist hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday left at least 471 people dead, including children, healthcare staff and Internally Displaced People (IDPs).
The overall death toll in Gaza in the last 12 days of hostilities has significantly surpassed the total number of fatalities during the 2014 escalation, which lasted for over 50 days, resulting in 2,251 Palestinian deaths, the OCHA said.
Meanwhile in the West Bank, 64 people have died since the conflict erupted on October 7, including 18 children. The number of injured persons stood at 1,284.
The cumulative number of IDPs in Gaza is estimated at about one million, including over 513,907 people staying in UN Relief Works Agency-designated emergency shelters , of whom 353,539 are in central and southern Gaza alone.
Since October 11, Gaza has been under a full electricity blackout, following Israel’s halt of its electricity and fuel supply, which in turn triggered the shutdown of the besieged enclave’s sole power plant.
The Office also said that the complete siege of Gaza continues, with the Rafah, Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings remaining closed.
Hundreds of Hamas infrastructures destroyed, says Israel military
As the raging conflict between Israel and the Hamas continued for the 13th day on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said that hundreds of infrastructures linked to the Palestinian militant group have been destroyed since the beginning of the war on October 7.
In a post on X, the IDF said it "continues to attack all the time throughout the Gaza Strip", the BBC reported.
The military also said that it destroyed "anti-tank missile launch sites, tunnel shafts, intelligence infrastructures, operational headquarters and other headquarters".
It further alleged that "over ten terrorists were also eliminated".
Regarding the tensions simmering on the Israel-Lebanon border, the IDF said in the last 24 hours, several anti-tank missiles were fired from the neighbouring country.
It said in a separate post on X, it said that "9 launches crossed from Lebanon into Israel" and there were "4 interceptions by the IDF Aerial Defense Array".
"Our forces responded to these hostilities by returning fire to the origin of the strikes; thwarting a terrorist cell using an IDF UAV; (and) striking Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure using tank fire."
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus acknowledged that there has been a “significant escalation” by the Hezbollah in its skirmishes with Israel in recent days.
"Hezbollah has fired numerous anti-tank missiles from Lebanon into Israel, targeting both military and civilian positions and inflicting casualties on both groups," Conricus said, adding that the Iran-backed militant group also made attempts to infiltrate Israel, but were thwarted by the IDF.
“What some Hezbollah is doing now is dragging Lebanon into a conflict that it has no business to be in, and it surely won't benefit from,” the spokesperson told CNN.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said it conducted six attacks on Israeli military posts all along the Lebanese border on Wednesday using guided missiles, machine guns and 57-mm mortars.
