Palestinian death toll passes 40,000 amid continued Israeli strikes on Gaza

Most of the dead are women and children, according to the Health Ministry

Palestinians mourn family members killed in Israeli bombardment on Gaza. AFP

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More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war with Israel began in October.

Gaza's Health Ministry said 40 people were killed in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths across the enclave to 40,005.

The vast majority – at least 70 per cent – of the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, while more than 92,400 others have been wounded in Israeli attacks.

Among the dead are, Aysal and Aser, four-day-old twins killed along with their mother as their father went to collect their birth certificates, and Hind Rajab, six, who died after an Israeli tank fired at a vehicle when she was travelling to Gaza city.

More than 630 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army and settler attacks on the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where at least 10,000 people have been detained since the start of the war.

The war began after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people.

The war, which has almost entirely decimated Gaza's infrastructure, has seen more than 80 per cent of the enclave being designated as a “no-go zone”, pushing thousands of Gazans into “safe zones” that come under regular attack. Hunger and preventable diseases are rife in areas with little to no sanitation across the enclave.

It is the bloodiest era of the Israel-Palestine conflict since 1948 and has been described by displaced Palestinians as a “second Nakba,” while risking all-out regional war with Iran and Lebanon.

The UN has said it is confident in the Health Ministry's reporting amid Israeli claims the death toll was inaccurate or exaggerated.

Some have said that the death toll is probably much higher – with thousands of people missing and Gaza's hospitals and morgues mostly out of service after repeated Israeli attacks and the death of more than 500 health workers.

Efforts to end the war continued in Doha on Thursday – but Hamas said they would not attend the talks after they froze negotiations after the assassination of its chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month.

Hamas blamed Israel for the missile strike which killed Mr Haniyeh, but Israel has not commented on the strike.

Efforts to reach a deal that would end the war in Gaza are being discussed by Egyptian, Qatari and US officials in Doha.

All have urged both Israel and Hamas to attend the talks. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed an Israeli delegation would go to Qatar, he said the war would continue. Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue fighting until Hamas is “destroyed” and Israeli hostages have been released from Gaza.

The response to the war has deepened cracks in Israel's political scene and cemented opposition to its right-wing cabinet. Hostage families have pleaded with the government to end the war and accept a deal which would secure the release of their loved ones. Protests have been staged every week in Israel since the conflict began.

Hamas has said it insists on the introduction of a ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden – and claimed new talks are a way of stalling efforts to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza.