More than 10,000 Palestinians killed since 7 October, say health officials

More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October, according to the latest figures released by the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. 

The grim toll includes more than 4,100 children and 2,640 women. 

The development comes after Israeli airstrikes hit two refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing scores of people, health officials said. 

Israel has so far rejected US suggestions that it take a humanitarian pause from its relentless bombardment of Gaza and the rising civilian deaths.

In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in settler violence and Israeli raids. 

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the 7 October Hamas attack that started the bloody conflict, and 242 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.

Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday under an apparent agreement among the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.

EU announces €25 million aid for Gaza

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday an extra 25 million euros of assistance for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, bringing the EU's total aid to 100 million. 

From Brussels, von der Leyen also spoke of the establishment of a maritime corridor from Cyprus to transport humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

“Israel has the right to fight Hamas, but it is also essential that it does everything possible to avoid civilian casualties,” she stressed in a speech to European ambassadors.

Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip heavily on Monday, as ground fighting rages. 

Hamas said overnight strikes killed more than 200 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave, where the war