The Gaza Health Ministry, which is under Hamas control, announced that more than 70,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the war that began after the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The ministry gave a total death toll of 70,100. (Gaza Health Ministry)
This new tally was released about one and a half months after the start of a fragile ceasefire — reached after negotiations led by the United States — which both sides accuse the other of violating.
The Gaza ministry said 354 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began on October 10. It also reported that two bodies were received at Gaza hospitals in the past 48 hours, one of them recovered from under rubble; the increase in the overall toll is partly explained by authorities’ verification of data on 299 additional bodies.
On the Israeli side, the October 7 attack caused 1,221 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an accounting by Agence France-Presse based on official figures. (AFP)
During the October 7 assault, 251 people were taken hostage and brought to Gaza. Under the ceasefire arrangements, Hamas released 20 living hostages it had been holding and returned the bodies of 26 hostages out of 28. In exchange, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and returned the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians.
