"More than 44,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza"

The death toll in the Palestinian Gaza Strip has topped 44,000 since the war between Israel and Hamas, Gaza's health ministry says.

As of the 21st local time, the Ministry of Health reported 44,56 deaths and 104,268 injuries.

Thousands more bodies are still believed to be inaccessible to rescuers, including under the rubble of the collapsed building, which is likely to result in more deaths.

Gaza's health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says more than half of those killed are women and children.

The Israeli military said it has killed 17,000 militants so far, but gave no basis.

In Lebanon, 3,580 people were killed and 15,000 injured in Israeli airstrikes.