The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 61,827, with 155,275 others injured since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted in Oct 2023, Gaza's health authorities said in a statement on Friday.
Over the past 24 hours, Israeli attacks have claimed 51 Palestinian lives and injured 369 others, according to the statement. Among them, 17 people were killed and another 250 were injured while waiting to receive humanitarian aids.
Since the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing aid in Gaza on May 27, a total of 1,898 aid seekers have been killed, with 14,113 others injured, the statement said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement on Friday saying that over the past four weeks, Israeli forces have blocked a key tunnel used by Hamas in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, along with other underground infrastructure. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to dismantle other tunnels in the city, totaling approximately 2.4 kilometers.
The IDF also stated that it killed Nasser Musa, a senior member of the Rafah Brigade and the head of Hamas' military control department, in a Khan Younis military operation last Saturday.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 61,827
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 61,827
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 61,827
A Japanese lawmaker has raised concerns over Japan's push to expand its military and its nuclear policy.
Responding to some politicians' dangerous tendency towards possessing nuclear weapons, Takara Sachika, a member of Japan's House of Councilors, said that Japan's push to strengthen its military, combined with what she called a misguided nuclear policy, not only heightens regional tensions but also directly threatens regional security.
"I think this is completely unacceptable. Japan is a country that has suffered atomic bombings and is one of the nations most aware of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Yet such a country is openly discussing the issue of possessing nuclear weapons and even attempting to revise the principle of not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons, one of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. This is an extremely serious problem," Takara said.
Takara said the Japanese government's tendency to expand its military capabilities is completely contrary to the Constitution.
"From the perspective of Japan's Constitution, Japan should never have adopted a policy of ensuring security by strengthening military capabilities. Yet today, enormous effort is being poured into military expansion, and that in itself is a serious problem," said the lawmaker.
At a Diet meeting in early November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that what she described as the Chinese central authorities' "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, and suggested the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, drawing strong criticism worldwide.
Takara urged Takaichi to retract her erroneous remarks as soon as possible.
"I think there is a very big problem with making such remarks that provoke other countries. It is necessary to thoroughly examine the facts as soon as possible and withdraw the relevant remarks," she said.
Japanese lawmaker criticizes nuclear weapons remarks as threat to regional security
