The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza has resumed its detailed count of Palestinian casualties from the war, saying over 13,300 have died.
The figures do not include updated numbers from hospitals in the north, where services and communication largely broke down earlier this month.
The ministry says some 6,000 people are reportedly missing and are feared buried under rubble.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its death tolls.
Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas fighters, though it has presented no evidence for its count.
The ministry stopped publishing casualty counts as of Nov. 11. It said it had lost the ability to do so because of the collapse of the health sector in the north.
Temporary Cease-fire in Gaza
The Israelis and Hamas have reached an agreement for a four-day cease-fire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages held by both sides.
A senior Israeli official said the ceasefire would not take effect until Friday, a day later than originally announced.
The diplomatic breakthrough promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment.
Families in Israel are fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.
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Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced the delay late Wednesday, without providing a reason.
Negotiators are “working to create appropriate conditions” for cease-fire and swap, according to Majed al-Ansari, spokesman for Qatar Foreign Ministry.
Qatar played a key role in mediating with Hamas.
The Persian Gulf nation said early Thursday that a new time for the agreement to go into force would be announced “in the coming hours.”
Originally, the ceasefire was to begin Thursday morning. The U.S. and Egypt also helped negotiate the deal.
Netanyahu Says Truce Won’y End War
The truce agreement had raised hopes of eventually winding down the war.
Now in its seventh week, the war has levelled vast swaths of Gaza, and fuelled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank.
And it had stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.
Air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel on Thursday as Hezbollah said it had fired 48 Katyusha rockets from southern Lebanon.
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The barrage came after an Israeli strike killed five Hezbollah fighters, including the son of the head of the group’s parliamentary bloc.
The Israeli military said it was striking the sources of the launches.
Israel and Hezbollah, which fought a month-long war in 2006, have repeatedly traded fire across the border since the war in Gaza broke out.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war against Hamas after the truce expired.
He said the goal is to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities. And to end its 16-year rule in Gaza and return all of the estimated 240 captives held in Gaza.
“The war is continuing. We will continue it until we achieve all our goals,” Netanyahu said.
He added that he had delivered the same message in a phone call to U.S. President Joe Biden.
Washington has provided extensive military and diplomatic support to Israel since the start of the war.
Israeli troops hold much of northern Gaza and say they have dismantled tunnels and much of Hamas’ infrastructure there.
Israeli forces on Wednesday revealed what they said was a major Hamas hideout in a tunnel beneath Shifa Hospital. (AP News & other News Agencies)
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