Israel Says War To Last Longer

The campaign has killed at least 21,110 people, according to the latest toll issued by Gaza's health ministry

• 2.4 mn Gazans have suffered shortages of water, food, fuel & meds, with only Itd aid entering the territory

The Hamas-run Gaza Strip's health ministry said on Wednesday the death toll from the war with Israel had surged above 21,000, about two-thirds of them women and children.

Israel again pounded Gaza with air strikes and shelling after its armed forces chief warned the war raging with Hamas since the 7 October attacks will last "many more months".

Explosion lit up the sky over the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis - a focus of heavy urban combat since the Israeli army said it had largely gained operational control over Gaza's north.

Heavy firefights however also raged again around Gaza City in the north, while an air strike wounded 1I near Rafah, a far-southern city crowded with internally displaced people, witnesses said.

Gaza's spiralling humanitarian crisis has amplified calls for an end to the hostilities.