Sadly the real number will probably never be known – but over 100,000 dead is a more likely figure given so many missing and lost under the rubble – Mark
The United States hailed a “promising start” to Gaza ceasefire talks Thursday, as pressure mounted for a deal to halt the spread of a war that the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry said has killed 40,005.
The conflict sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel has devastated Gaza, displaced nearly all of its population at least once and triggered a towering humanitarian crisis.
Talks involving CIA director William Burns opened in the Qatari capital Doha, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
“Today is a promising start,” Kirby told reporters in Washington, adding: “There remains a lot of work to do.”
The talks were expected to continue on Friday, he said.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the movement did not take part in Thursday’s meeting but stood ready to join the indirect negotiations if they produced new commitments from Israel.
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