The Israel-Hamas War

The official death toll in the Gaza Strip exceeds 25,000  

The official death toll in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war has now passed 25,000. This is stated by Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health on Sunday, reports AP, The Guardian and a number of other media.  

The death toll cannot be independently verified and the number includes both civilians and Hamas members, writes the Times of Israel. However, according to the UN, a majority of the victims are women and children.  

In an in-depth text, AP writes that the ministry is the only source that tells about dead and injured in the Gaza Strip. The UN, international experts and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank - Hamas's rivals - believe that the ministry has presented accurate figures over the years. WHO director Michael Ryan says that the number is not "perfect" but that it is broadly believed to be correct. In previous wars, the ministry's data have even been in line with Israel's figures, writes the news agency.  

Israel says it has killed around 10,000 Hamas members in response to the October 7 terrorist attack. Nor has that figure been verified by an independent party. Israel accuses Hamas of hiding among civilians in densely populated areas and thus contributing to the increase in the number of civilian casualties.

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Analysis: Israel says no - the two-state solution is dead  

US President Joe Biden continues to hope for a two-state solution after the war between Israel and Hamas. But the dream of one is dead, Politico's Jamie Dettmer writes in an analysis.  

According to Dettmer, opinion polls show that a broad Israeli majority does not want to live in a country that borders an independent Palestinian state.  

"On the contrary: they want stronger fortifications and better surveillance," writes Dettmer.  

In the Los Angeles Times, Raphael S Cohen writes that because of the political situation, Netanyahu is forced to reject a two-state solution in order to keep his coalition government together. 

Besides that, there is also a more fundamental concern among Israelis. They ask, according to Cohen, what would prevent a group like Hamas - which has strong support among Palestinians - from taking control of a new Palestinian state. 

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UK: Israel's stance 'disappointing' Israel's 

rejection of a two-state solution is "hugely disappointing," British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Saturday that he did not see any solution that includes an independent Palestinian state as a possibility. 

- In some ways it is not surprising - he has opposed a two-state solution his whole career - but the question is what other serious possibility is there to solve this, says Shapps.  

Great Britain, like the United States and a number of countries in the Middle East, believes that a two-state solution is the only option for a sustainable peace after the end of the war.

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The Israel-Hamas war|The ship attacks 

British ships collided - part of operation against Houthis  

 

Two British warships, the minesweepers HMS Chiddingfold and HMS Bangor, crashed into each other in a port in Bahrain on Saturday.  

 

- Sometimes accidents happen, says Britain's Defense Minister Grant Shapps to the BBC. He also points out that an investigation into the incident has been launched.  

 

The ships make up two-thirds of the British effort to protect merchant ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. No one is said to have been seriously injured in the collision, but HMS Bangor has been temporarily taken out of service for repairs.