Gaza death toll passes 70,000 as Israeli strikes continue despite truce

A mourner sits next to the body of a Palestinian who was killed in an Israeli air strike, at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. Reuters

The death toll from Israel's devastating war on the Gaza Strip passed 70,000, the enclave's health ministry said, as attacks continue despite a ceasefire in place since last month.

Gaza's Health Ministry on Saturday said at least 70,100 people have been killed across the war-ravaged enclave since Israel launched its war more than two years ago after a deadly Hamas attack. More than 170,900 have been injured.

The milestone comes as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire holds, but with both sides accusing the other of breaching its terms. The ministry said that since the truce came into effect on October 10, 354 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.

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Under the terms of the truce, Israel withdrew its troops behind a “yellow line” where many of the deadly incidents have been taking place.

The ministry noted that the increase from the last death toll was due to the fact that the data relating to 299 bodies had been processed and approved by the authorities.

Hamas is yet to release two of 28 bodies of hostages who died in captivity, but talks for the second phase of the ceasefire are under way between the group and mediators. This part is expected to be the most complicated, involving the more crucial provisions of the plan, including the disarmament of Hamas and the formation of a committee of independent Palestinian technocrats to run the day-to-day affairs of Gaza.

Despite the truce, the plight of Gazans continues to be worsened by slow aid deliveries, floods and the onset of winter. High levels of malnutrition continue to endanger the lives and well-being of children in the Gaza Strip, Unicef warned.

The latest toll coincided with the UN marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, on November 29 each year. “In so many ways, this tragedy has tested the norms and laws that have guided the international community for generations,” UN chief Antonio Guterres said.

People wave Palestinian flags as they participate in a rally during the 'International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People', in Geneva, Switzerland. EPA

“The killing of so many civilians, the repeated displacement of an entire population and the obstruction of humanitarian aid should never be acceptable under any circumstances,” he continued.

Tens of thousands gathered in protests across European capitals in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, with a deadly, Hamas-led attack that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israeli communities. The Israeli army's response has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, and the fighting has also destroyed most of the enclave's built-up areas and created a humanitarian crisis during which hundreds of thousands face hunger.

The war has also given rise to charges of genocide against Israel, including at the International Court of Justice. Israel is accused of deliberately starving Gaza's estimated 2 million residents. Israel denies the charges.