Israel has killed more than 25,000 Palestinian women and children since the October 7, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday. “It’s over 25,000,” Austin told lawmakers when asked during a House Armed Services Committee hearing for the figure on women and children killed. The United States has backed Israel since the war broke in October. Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza had left more than 30,000 people dead, the coastal territory’s health ministry. The number provided by Austin is within the same range, and come as Washington pushes for a ceasefire and a reduction in civilian casualties in Gaza.