Israel-Hamas war tensions inflame the Middle East as fighting persists in Gaza

GAZA (AP): Hamas are keeping up a stiff resistance across the Gaza Strip to Israel’s offensive. The war shows no sign of ending and has inflamed tensions across the Middle East, with a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes in recent days.

Pakistan launched retaliatory airstrikes on Iran early Thursday, killing multiple people and further raising the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas.

In Gaza, a shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas entered the territory late Wednesday in a deal that Qatar and France worked out between Israel and Hamas.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 24,400 Palestinians have died. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children. In Israel, around 1,200 people were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war and saw some 250 people taken hostage by Hamas.