Israel-Palestine live: Week three ends with over 7,000 Palestinians killed

Britain would consider discussing a humanitarian pause in Gaza to facilitate aid coming into the besieged enclave, but will not discuss a ceasefire “as that would only benefit Hamas”, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said.

The number of those killed and missing in Gaza since the start of the war on 7 October has now exceeded the numbers of the victims in the Srebrenica genocide, according to the Euro-Med Monitor. 

The current death toll in Gaza stands at 6,546, with an average of 700 Palestinians killed a day. Over 1,900 are missing in Gaza, with the death toll expected to grow as more are found under the rubble of destroyed homes. 

During the Srebrenica massacre of 1995, between 7,000 to 8,000 were killed and recorded as missing.
 

Hamas have claimed responsibility for rockets launched towards the southern Israeli city of Eilet, located around 220km away from the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. 

The Israeli military said there was some impact in an outlying area, however there were no immediate reports of any casualties. 

This appears to be the longest-range rocket fired towards Israel since the start of the war on 7 October. 
 

The death toll in Gaza is growing "exponentially" as Israeli shelling intensifies, the Palestinian ministry of health said.

In the early days of the Israeli bombing campaign, the death toll stood at around 200 a day.However, the ministry recorded the killing of 400 people a single day earlier this week. On Wednesday, the ministry said over 700 people were killed in the previous 24 hours.

The Ministry of Health stated that they recorded 44 massacres on Wednesday, killing 756 people, including 344 children. 

Palestine’s Ministry of Health says that 65 percent of those killed in Gaza this week died in the south of the enclave, which Israel has said is safe.

Last week, Israel ordered at least 1.1 million residents in north Gaza to leave their homes and head towards the south, with no guarantee of return. 

Now, survivors of the ongoing bombings have found themselves targeted in the south. 

At least 6,546 Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip have been killed since the start of the war. 
 

The following death tolls in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon are accurate as of 12.10pm GMT on 25 October.

They are sourced from Palestinian, Israeli, Lebanese and Hezbollah officials. 

Palestine

Gaza
Killed: 6,546 (2,704+ children, at least 1,584 women)*
Wounded: 17,439 
*Data on combatant casualties not yet available 

West Bank and East Jerusalem
Killed: 103 (at least 30 children, one woman) 
Wounded: 1,400 

Israel
Killed: 1,400 (769 civilians, 307 soldiers, 57 police officers)*
Wounded: 5,000+
*Data on children and women casualties not yet available 

Lebanon
Killed: 49 (3 civilians, 40 Lebanese fighters, 6 Palestinian fighters) 
Wounded: Data not yet available 

Jordan's King Abdullah on Wednesday told French President Emmanuel Macron to urge Israel to end the war on Gaza, or there would be an “explosion in the region".

King Abdullah’s royal court issued a statement stating that Israel should stop its bombing campaign against civilians in the enclave and end its siege of its over two million residents.
 

Gaza needs billions of dollars in international economic aid to compensate for the years of restrictions that Israel has imposed on it, according to a report published on Wednesday by the United Nations trade body.

In its report on the economic development of the occupied Palestinian territory for 2022, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said that the restrictions have stifled Gaza's economy and curbed its development.

The report also highlighted the dire economic conditions in Gaza prior to the start of the war on 7 October.

"Donors and the international community need to extend significant economic aid to repair the extensive damage Gaza has experienced under prolonged restrictions and closures and frequent military operations, which has stifled the economy and decimated infrastructure," the report said.

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has described President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey’s description of Hamas as “disgusting".

Earlier on Wednesday, Erdogan said that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, and instead is a “liberation group, trying to protect its land”.

Salvini added that he would suggest that the Turkish ambassador is summoned over Erdogan’s comments.

Residents are now waiting up to ten hours for one pack of bread - if they can find any at all - according to an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent on the ground in Gaza.

The long queues are due to Israel cutting off all fuel in a full siege imposed on Gaza on 9 October.

According to the correspondent, cemeteries have also reached full capacity due to the number of people killed in Israeli bombings, posing further challenges and resulting in dead bodies piling up in the streets.  
 

At least 12 out of the 35 hospitals in Gaza are now out of service due to damage from Israeli bombardment and Israel's decision to cut off fuel supplies to the besieged enclave. 

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 46 out of 72 health care clinics have also shut down, leaving thousands of people without any form of medical aid amidst ongoing heavy bombardment. 

The remaining health clinics and hospitals are running on generators and have little resources to treat patients who have been critically wounded or are in intensive care. 

Officials on the ground have described it as a "humanitarian catastrophe".

Around 1.4 million people in Gaza are now internally displaced.

In a damning speech to his party's lawmakers in parliament, Turkey’s president Erdogan confirmed that he has cancelled his upcoming trip to Israel due to the situation in Gaza.

Hezbollah states that two more of their members have been killed in Lebanon’s Bekaa governorate. 

The group said that 11 of their members have been killed in the last 24 hours.

At least 40 Hezbollah members have been killed since the outbreak of the war on 7 October. 
 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will "continue to utilise all political, diplomatic, military means necessary" in response to the current Israeli assault in Gaza.

In a speech to his party's lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan said Israel had taken advantage of Turkey's good intentions and that he will not go to Israel as previously planned.

He also said Hamas was not a terrorist organisation but a liberation group waging a battle to protect its land.

Qatar's prime minister said on Wednesday that there has been some progress on hostage negotiations following Hamas taking more than 200 hostages during its 7 October rampage in southern Israel.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said he hopes there will be breakthroughs on hostage releases "soon".

He also said that any escalation in the conflict will complicate the ability to get hostages home safely. 

"The number of children killed in Gaza exceeds the number of children killed in Ukraine, but we have not seen the same reaction," he added.