Palestinian death toll passes grim 42,000 milestone as bloodshed continues

The death toll from on passed another grim milestone, as the bloodshed continued across the Middle East.

Palestinian officials said more than 42,000 people have been killed and more than 97,000 wounded in a year of attacks. An airstrike on the Jabaliya refugee camp killed at least nine people, including two women and two children. Mohamed Awda, who lives with his parents and six siblings, said: “It’s like hell. We can’t get out. The quadcopters are everywhere, and they fire at anyone. You can’t even open the window.”

PM has vowed to keep fighting until “total victory” over Hamas and the return of all the captives taken in the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas killed 1,200 people. He has warned Lebanon would meet the same fate as Gaza if its people did not rise up against Hezbollah militants.

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US President and Mr Netanyahu held their first call in weeks. Mr Netanyahu’s office confirmed the PM had also spoken to . Israeli warplanes pushed on with air strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon. Mr Netanyahu was also finalising plans for a retaliatory operation against Iran in response to its 200-strong missile onslaught more than a week ago.

So far, operations in Lebanon appear to be focused on a narrow strip along the border, but has warned people to evacuate dozens of cities and towns. Elsewhere, an Israeli couple were killed by a Hezbollah missile in northern Israel. The couple were walking their in Kiryat Shemona, near the border with Lebanon, when they were hit by shrapnel from rockets.

Two people were left fighting for their lives and four more were wounded after a knifeman went on the rampage in the coastal city of Hadera. Police said the attacker, who was killed at the scene, was acting alone.