By WAFAA SHURAFA and JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry said Thursday.

Israel’s offensive has also wounded 92,401 people and displaced over 85% of the population from their homes, the ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said. It does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its toll. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The announcement came during yet another push from international mediators to broker a cease-fire in the war, now in its 11th month.

The conflict began Oct. 7 after Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and dragging roughly 250 hostages to Gaza.

Israel says 111 of the captives have not been released, including the bodies of 39. The hostages include 15 women and two children under the age of 5.

In Gaza, health officials have struggled to fully identify the dead as bodies stream into overwhelmed hospitals and morgues where they say the count is compiled amid the chaos of war and displacement.

In its most recent detailed report on the dead, issued Thursday, the ministry said 40,005 people have been killed. Health officials and civil defense workers say the true toll is likely thousands higher, since many bodies remain buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed in airstrikes.

Israel’s air and ground offensive in Gaza has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history.

The bombardment and shelling have killed entire Palestinian families. With cemeteries often unreachable, families fleeing Israeli airstrikes bury their dead wherever possible — in backyards, along roadsides and under the staircases of their homes.

Israel says it aims to eliminate Hamas. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because fighters operate in civilian areas and have built extensive tunnel networks underneath them. Israeli forces have regularly targeted mosques, schools, hospitals and cemeteries where it claims fighters or tunnels are located, often causing civilian casualties.

Related Articles

Bret Stephens: Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett needs to topple two regimes

Top Hamas official says group is losing faith in US as mediator in Gaza cease-fire talks

Israel widens evacuation orders in southern Gaza. Hamas wants plans for a deal instead of more talks

Hamas has a new leader. How will that affect the war in Gaza and cease-fire efforts?

Bret Stephens: The world that awaits the next president

The fighting has also killed 329 Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military claims that over 17,000 Hamas fighters are among those killed in Gaza but has not provided evidence.

Nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes, fleeing multiple times across the territory to escape ground offensives. During the war, thousands within Israel and in southern Lebanon have also been displaced.

The assault has created a massive humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The entire territory is at high risk of famine and over 495,000 people — more than a fifth of the population — are expected to experience the most severe level of hunger in the coming months, according to the latest report by the leading authority on measuring hunger.

Also, Gaza’s sanitation systems have been destroyed, leaving pools of sewage and towers of garbage in tent camps packed with displaced families.

The offensive likely either damaged or destroyed 59% of all structures in Gaza by July 3, including 70% of buildings in northern Gaza, according to an analysis of satellite data by Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, experts in mapping damage during war.

The conflict has sparked fears of a wider regional war, with Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and the Israeli military trading fire almost daily over their countries’ border.

More than 500 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, including some 350 Hezbollah members and 50 fighters from other militant groups, with the rest being civilians. In Israel, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed.

Frankel reported from Jerusalem.

“In space, no one can hear you scream,” went the tagline for the original “Alien” in 1979, a terrifying thought on multiple levels.

There may indeed be a scientific rationale for a space scream to be inaudible, but isn’t it scarier to simply realize nobody’s around to hear you? That was the case for Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, once she became the last one standing against the fearsome Xenomorph. Nobody could hear her scream — nobody human, that is — because, duh, everyone was dead.

In any case, hearing won’t be a problem here on Earth at any multiplex showing “Alien: Romulus,” the much-anticipated new installment to the “Alien” franchise (not a sequel, but we’ll get to that in a minute.) This is a very big, very (very!) loud, very jumpy horror flick, and the screams will come, and they’ll be audible. Which is precisely what “Alien” fans are surely waiting for.

And speaking of Ripley, no, neither she (nor Weaver) are present in this new version by Fede Álvarez, closer in feel to the horror roots of Ridley Scott’s original than James Cameron’s more action-focused 1986 “Aliens.”

But now we have Rain Carradine, played by rising star Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”), a new-generation Ripley in everything but name. Spaeny takes up the mantle of badass space fighter with aplomb, and is easily the best part of a movie that, like the 1979 original, is short on character development.

There are many other parallels (and winking nods) to the original (Scott is a co-producer here). But like we said, don’t call it a sequel. In fact it’s an “interquel,” which wouldn’t be a bad horror film title in itself. The dictionary explains that it’s neither sequel nor prequel, but rather a “middlequel” between installments, known as “quels.”

Just kidding! It’s not in the dictionary. But it’s worth noting that Álvarez, in placing his movie between existing versions to form a new trilogy, yet aiming also for standalone entertainment, risks some tonal confusion. Not that you’ll be able to hear your thoughts, should this occur to you.

The premise is new, sort of. Álvarez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues, has said he got the idea from a deleted scene from Cameron’s film, in which young kids were seen amongst workers in a mining colony, and wondering what their lives would be like when they reached their 20s.

At the beginning, we find out: life is bleak indeed in the colony on Jackson’s Star, owned by the worker-exploiting Weyland-Yutani firm.

Rain’s miner parents have died of lung ailments. They’ve left her a caring brother, Andy, who is actually a “synthetic,” or humanoid robot. The “human” element is crucial because it allows an empathetic David Jonsson, in the role, to connect to the audience in a way that otherwise only Spaeny does — the rest of the cast is given virtually nothing to work with.

In any case, the two are not long for Jackson’s Star. After Rain is turned down for a travel permit to finally escape dark colony life, she and Andy join a risky venture.

There’s an (apparently) decommissioned space station hovering above, and if they can raid it of hardware and other loot, they can bypass the brutal wait for permits and finally make it to a new home. And so, reluctantly, the two agree to join the others — Rain’s ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux), his sister Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and Navarro (Aileen Wu) — on a bumpy flight to the Renaissance station.

Surely we’re not spoiling much to say that it’s best not to get attached to anybody.

Because, we all know what’s waiting up there, don’t we? It’s already been teased in the opening, with the rickety old station looking much like USCSS Nostromo, that ill-fated space tug in the original.

We hardly needed the hint, though. This is an “Alien” movie and it’s all about the Xenomorph, that terrifying creature who is diabolically “perfect,” able to survive in any atmosphere and to multiply, obviously, in the most disgusting of ways.

It’s not really a party — or a movie — until the creatures show up. And that, they do. Much has been made of this film’s use of practical effects, rather than a CGI-created universe. The actors have said this — as well as shooting in a linear fashion — helped them feel the genuine horror needed for their portrayals.

Does all this elevate the film beyond any of its predecessors? Like so many franchises that depend on intense fandom, that truly depends from what vantage point you’re joining in. Fans of the original will appreciate the many respectful echoes of that film (and perhaps the fact that, thank the lord, there’s no longer a gratuitous skimpy panty scene.) Fans of Cameron’s take will appreciate the action that comes later in the film.

And while some will applaud the wild, outlandish, creative and possibly ridiculous swerve of those final minutes — not to spoil it — others may even laugh rather than scream.

It’s all good, though. In space, probably no one can hear you laugh, either.

“Alien: Romulus”

“Alien: Romulus,” a 20th-Century Studios release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association “for bloody violent content and language. ”

Running time: 119 minutes.

Two stars out of four.

Related Articles

What to watch: Milli Vanilli scandal is retold, with no mercy, in ‘Girl You Know It’s True’

Movie review: ‘It Ends With Us’ a bungled adaptation of romance novel

‘Mr. Throwback’ review: The NBA’s Steph Curry stars in this mockumentary about hangers-on

Review: ‘Kneecap’ is a rousing Belfast hip hop ode to native tongues everywhere

‘The Instigators’ review: Actors, director elevate so-so crime-comedy script

Minnesota Aurora has backed off its bid to become a professional women’s soccer club for the second time in three years.

The amateur team sent a letter to its 3,080 community owners this week notifying them that Aurora will withdraw its attempt to become a National Women’s Soccer League expansion franchise in 2026.

“The process is extremely complex, and while we had a strong investment group, circumstances out of our control kept us from pursuing the bid at this time,” the letter said. “There remains strong interest by investors to support Minnesota Aurora going pro.”

Aurora, which also paused a bid in December 2022, was pursuing a deeper-pocketed ownership group to join the NWSL, the top U.S. flight. It is expected to be a competitive auction-style process to become the league’s 16th team.

“(Although) the NWSL isn’t happening right now, we are committed to building a healthy and sustainable organization that will grow so we can continue to explore all opportunities available to us in the future,” the letter said.

Aurora has had strong fan support for matches played at the Vikings’ TCO Stadium for the previous three years. The team has produced three consecutive undefeated regular seasons, but has fallen short of an overall league championship each postseason.

“We are constantly in awe of the support from you, our owners, our fans, sponsors and supporters,” the letter concluded. “Stay tuned for updates over the next few month. … The future is very bright for the Aurora community.”

Related Articles

Late goal ends Minnesota Aurora season in 2-1 loss to Indy Eleven

Minnesota Aurora has ‘unfinished business’ going into USL playoffs

Minnesota Aurora finishes third straight unbeaten regular season with 14-0 rout

Aurora clinch playoff berth with 7-0 win on the road against Bavarian United

Women’s soccer: Minnesota Aurora blank Chicago Dutch Lions