Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 44,930

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 44,930, with 106,624 others injured, said Gaza-based health authorities in a statement released on Saturday.

According to multiple Palestinian media and local health-care workers, Israel carried out strikes on various spots throughout Saturday, causing dozens of deaths. The targets include spots near the Deir al-Balah government building, and multiple camps for refugees and displaced residents in Deir al-Balah and Gaza City.

The Gaza Strip media office also reported on Saturday night the death of a journalist amid an Israeli strike, bringing the death count of journalists and media workers since the outbreak in October 2023 to 195.

On the Israeli side, Israel Defense Forces reported a missile attack on Saturday night, hitting an open area in southern Israel and causing no casualties.

In addition, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk convened an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss a comprehensive ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip, building on recent diplomatic efforts.

The meeting follows Israel's dispatch of high-level representatives to Egypt and Qatar to negotiate a truce and reduce tensions, as well as reports of Hamas showing increased flexibility in its stance on ceasefire negotiations.

Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 44,930

Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 44,930

Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 44,930

Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 44,930

Even under assumptions that the U.S.-Israel war on Iran does not persist past April and that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz gradually resumes, the world will face the pressure of rising oil prices throughout this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday.

In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook released on Tuesday, the EIA raised the forecast of Brent crude oil spot price for 2026 to 96 U.S. dollars per barrel from the previous forecast of 79 U.S. dollars a barrel.

Retail gasoline and diesel prices will continue the rising trend this year, said the outlook.

The outlook maintains a risk premium on crude oil prices throughout the forecast period, as the EIA expects uncertainty around future supply disruptions to keep prices above pre-conflict levels.

"Once flows through the Strait of Hormuz resume, we assume it will take time to resolve the backlog and disruption to oil tanker routes and trade flows and that the potential for future disruptions will remain at risk and create a premium in the oil price," it said.

US Energy Information Administration forecasts rising oil prices throughout 2026