At least 39,000 people have now been confirmed killed in Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, the Palestinian territory's Health Ministry announced Monday.
The toll includes 23 deaths in 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 89,818 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its war on Oct. 7.
The updated death toll comes as the Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of part of an area in the Gaza Strip it has designated a humanitarian zone.
The military said it was planning to begin an operation against the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in the area and reportedly used it to launch rockets toward Israel. The area includes the eastern part of the Muwasi humanitarian zone, which is located in the southern Gaza Strip.
On Monday morning, thousands of Palestinians carrying backpacks and children walked down dusty roads under the scorching summer sun, navigating dilapidated cars filled with belongings tied on top. Many Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel’s punishing air and ground campaign.
"We do not know where we are walking," said Kholoud al Dadas, as she clutched her children. "This is the seventh or eighth time we have been displaced. While we were sleeping in our homes, they started shooting at us, bombing from everywhere." Moments later, as she continued on her way, al Dadas collapsed in exhaustion and people rushed to her aid.
Earlier this month, Israel said it estimates at least 1.8 million Palestinians are now in the humanitarian zone it declared covering a stretch of about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) along the Mediterranean.
Much of that area is now blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, U.N. and humanitarian groups say. Families live amid mountains of trash and streams contaminated by sewage.
The announcement came during delicate negotiations seeking a cease-fire in Gaza, with U.S. and Israeli officials expressing hope that an agreement is closer than ever.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said a negotiating team will be sent to continue talks on Thursday.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States are continuing to push Israel and Hamas toward a phased cease-fire deal that would stop the clashes and free hostages.
Netanyahu left Monday morning on a much-anticipated trip to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden, who announced Sunday that he would not seek another term, and address Congress.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Monday that it is continuing to operate in central and southern Gaza. One person was killed and three injured in a strike outside the Al Aqsa hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah.
Overnight, at least 15 people, including four women and six children, were killed in strikes in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital officials and a body count by an Associated Press journalist. The Israeli military did not have immediate comment.
The United Nations also accused Israel of targeting a U.N. humanitarian convoy in central Gaza. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the main U.N. group supporting Palestinians in Gaza, said that on Sunday Israel shot at the convoy near an Israeli military checkpoint and that five bullets pierced the clearly marked armored U.N. vehicle.
Lazzarini said that the movement of the convoy had been coordinated with Israeli forces. No one was injured, but Lazzarini condemned the military for targeting humanitarian workers. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
The war was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion of southern Israel, causing the deaths of around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. About 120 remain held, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.
The Israeli military announced the deaths Monday of two additional Israeli hostages, saying they believe Yagev Buchshtab, 35, and Alex Dancyg, 76, were no longer alive, based on intelligence.
Netanyahu has vowed to wipe out Hamas and secure the return of the remaining hostages. Families of hostages and thousands of other Israelis have held weekly demonstrations to urge the prime minister to reach a cease-fire deal that would bring their loved ones home.
The already precarious humanitarian conditions inside besieged Gaza have worsened with the discovery of the polio virus as water and sanitation services have deteriorated for the territory’s 2.3 million people, most of them displaced.
Traces of the virus were found in sewage samples in Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said no one has been treated for symptoms caused by the disease.
Israel’s military said soldiers would be vaccinated and claimed it would work with organizations to bring in vaccines for Palestinians.
Also Monday, Israeli police said a Canadian citizen was killed after threatening Israeli security forces with a knife near the Gaza border.
The Israeli military said the man drove to the entrance of an Israeli town close to the border, left his vehicle and approached the security forces with a knife. The forces opened fire and killed the man. There were no other injuries.
The incident took place at the entrance to the Israeli town of Netiv HaAsara, which is just 300 meters (984 feet) north of the Gaza border.
