STORY: Palestinian death toll in Gaza surpasses 44,000: health authorities
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 21, 2024
DATELINE: Nov. 22, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:29
LOCATION: Gaza
CATEGORY: MILITARY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Deir al-Balah city's market in central Gaza
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MOHAMMED ABU ALI, Deir al-Balah resident
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SAMIR AL-HOUR, Deir al-Balah resident
4. various of Gaza

STORYLINE:

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 44,000, the Gaza-based health authorities said on Thursday.
   
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 71 people and wounded 176 others, bringing the total death toll to 44,056 and injuries to 104,268 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, it said in a statement.
   
Many victims remain trapped under rubble, with ambulance and civil defense teams unable to reach them.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MOHAMMED ABU ALI, Deir al-Balah resident
"We are living in challenging circumstances beyond what you can imagine. The number of martyrs has reached 44,000, and this is a huge number. Our lives are miserable, as we do not find flour or water, so life is tough. I call on the world to intervene to end this suffering. Frankly, we are exhausted, as we now have 44 thousand dead in Gaza and more than 102 thousand wounded, and this is equivalent to massacres against our people. Therefore, the Council must take an urgent decision to end the war on Gaza."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SAMIR AL-HOUR, Deir al-Balah resident
"Today, there are more than 44,000 martyrs and more than 120,000 injuries, and this is an imaginary number, as every day there are massacres, deaths, martyrs and wounded. Even in the world war, such killing did not happen. Two days ago, more than 22 martyrs were killed, and three days ago, more than 100 were killed, and no one cares about us."   

Also on Thursday, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said on the social media platform X that 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is now high-risk areas where people are forced to flee in search for the basics, especially the nonexistent safety.
   
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza.
(XHTV)