Death toll in Israel and Palestine has reached an all-time high

A report shows that the number of deaths in Israel and Palestine has reached an all-time high.

According to the UN, there have been more than 200 Palestinians who have been reported deceased, along with around 30 reported Israeli fatalities.

These numbers represent the highest number of deaths since 2005.

Speaking from Jerusalem, Tor Wennesland said: "Palestinians and Israelis are killed and injured in near-daily violence – including just hours before this briefing when another fatal shooting attack killed an Israeli in the West Bank."

Tor Wennesland, who is also the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, continued to recognise the lack of progress between the opposing governments in Israel and Palestine.

Mr Wennesland said: "The lack of progress towards a political horizon that addresses the core issues driving the conflict has left a dangerous and volatile vacuum, filled by extremists on both sides."

People in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, are witnessing higher-than-normal electricity shortages, that are lasting up to 12 hours. The mass power cuts sparked huge protests against Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for more than 17 years.

Hamas is considered a militant Palestinian nationalist and Islamist movement, that is dedicated to the establishment of an independent Islamic state. Internationally, Hamas is viewed as a terrorist group which does not recognise Israel's right to exist.

On 30 July 2023, thousands of civilians took to Gaza City's streets to protest the Hamas rule. Videos that depicted Hamas security forces beating the protestors circulated worldwide.

The activists burned Hamas flags and chanted "What a shame!" – protesting the chronic power outages and dire living conditions. Hamas security officers swiftly intercepted the marches, destroying the mobile phones of people who were filming the movement.

Witnesses say that protestors in the southern town of Khan Younis were also criticising Hamas for deducting around $15 fee from a monthly $100 that is given to Gaza's poorest families by the wealthy Gulf state of Qatar.

Recently, it was reported that Hamas also sentenced seven civilians to death in Gaza, for allegedly collaborating with Israel.

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Hamas courts in Gaza issued 27 death sentences in 2022.

The vicious Hamas rule has also been recognised by Israeli nationals for years. In 2021, Noa Tishby, a self-described Zionist and pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian, anti-Hamas, American Israeli Jewish woman, wrote on Instagram: "HAMAS IS THE TALIBAN... Free Afghanistan from the Taliban. Free Gaza from Hamas."

The Institute for Middle East Understanding stated: "Today, there are approximately 1.6 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, comprising about 20 per cent of the total Israeli population."

Earlier this year, in May 2023, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group said that an Israel strike that hit an apartment building in Gaza City killed three of its leaders and at least 13 people.

Palestinian authorities reported that four children were among the fatalities.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said that the air attack targeted a top-floor apartment, which was home to the three PIJ members. The 13 other people lost their lives while they were in close proximity to the building.

In retaliation to the brutal strike, Hamas sent more than 850 missiles into Israel from Gaza within 72 hours.

This year, in response to the constant back-and-forth between Israel and Palestine, the UK issued a statement that read: "We continue to support a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, which must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties. Israelis and Palestinians both deserve to live in peace, with equal measures of freedom, security, and prosperity."

The UN has since called for all international partners to accelerate their work to help Palestine and Israel break the "cycles of violence".