Israel-Palestine conflict: Latest updates

ISTANBUL

The conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas enters its sixth day with a humanitarian disaster looming in Gaza amid continued air strikes by Israel as the US engages in talks for a safe passage for Gazans.

Humanitarian situation

GAZA CITY - The number of displaced people in Gaza has exceeded 338,000, says the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

• Hospitals in Gaza have run out of beds, say Palestinian authorities.

• Thousands in need of medical and healthcare services, says Gaza Health Ministry.

• Complete electricity outage in the Gaza Strip, says Palestinian Energy Authority.

• The Gaza Strip’s sole power plant is out of service due to lack of fuel.

The fighting

GAZA CITY - At least seven Palestinians have been killed and several wounded early Thursday in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

JENIN - The Israeli army raided on Thursday the city of Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank.

WASHINGTON - A second US aircraft carrier is heading to the Mediterranean for a "long-scheduled deployment," the White House said.

GAZA CITY - The Palestinian group Hamas released a captured Israeli woman and her two children.

• Hamas says Operation Al-Aqsa Flood is ‘defensive’ as it denies slaughtering Israeli civilians.

• JERUSALEM - The sound of air-raid sirens from southern Lebanon was a “false alarm,” says Israel.

Conflict in numbers​​​​​​​

• GAZA CITY- The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks has climbed to around 1,200, with nearly 5,000 wounded, says Palestinian Health Ministry.

• At least 11 UN staff and personnel and 30 students at UN schools have been killed in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli airstrikes.

• JERUSALEM - At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed in the Hamas attack, say Israeli authorities.

• Israel’s Health Ministry announced Wednesday that 3,268 wounded Israelis have been treated in hospitals since conflict began.

• At least 220 Israeli soldiers have been killed, says army.

• GENEVA - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) confirmed that five staffers have been killed in armed hostilities in Israel and Gaza.

Diplomatic and political front

• The US is in active talks with Israel and Egypt to establish a "safe passage" for civilians in Gaza, says White House.

• Egypt says it is eager to keep the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip open to deliver humanitarian aid to the territory.

• US, UAE presidents discuss Israel-Palestine conflict as Biden condemns Hamas ‘terror.’

• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke over phone on efforts aimed at restoring calm in Gaza.

• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the situation in Palestine in their first phone call since ties resumed.

• Bombing civilian settlements unacceptable, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call.

• NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said Israel has the "right to defend itself" but added that any response was expected to be "proportionate."

International reaction

• BRUSSELS - Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Tuesday in the heart of Brussels, the capital of Belgium, in a powerful show of support for Palestine.

• The crowd carried Palestinian flags and chanted: "Freedom for Palestine."