Fighting rages across Gaza as death toll surges to 24,927

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Saturday at least 24,927 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the war with Israel broke out on October 7.

A ministry statement said at least 165 people were killed over the past 24 hours, while another 62,388 have been wounded since the war began.

Fighting raged on Saturday across the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said four of its members were killed by a strike in Syria that it blamed on Israel.

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The Syria strike is the latest regional incident raising fears of wider conflagration.

It came even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden discussed the post-war future of Gaza where the humanitarian situation remains dire.

Gaza’s health ministry reported at least 165 people killed over the previous 24 hours-- by far the largest such toll it has issued in days, and more than double the previous day’s figure.

An AFP correspondent reported gunfire, air strikes and tank shelling into the morning, particularly in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.

Israel is pressing its push southwards against Hamas militants, after the army in early January said the Hamas command structure in northern Gaza had been dismantled, leaving only isolated fighters.

But the armed wing of Hamas reported fierce combat with Israeli troops in north Gaza on Saturday.

The military said troops backed by air and naval support were striking militant infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip, including the north.

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