Gaza’s health ministry said on Saturday the death toll in Palestine had risen to more than 70,000 since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, while a hospital said two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli shelling in the south of the territory.
The death toll continues to rise since the latest ceasefire came into effect on October 10. Israel still conducts attacks in response to ceasefire violations, and bodies from before the war are being recovered from the debris.
The health ministry said the Palestinian death toll now stood at 70,100. This department works under the government run by Hamas. It is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records that are generally considered reliable by the international community.
The war began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Almost all hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other agreements.
Staff at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, which received the bodies of the children, said the brothers, aged 8 and 11, were killed when an Israeli drone strike hit a school sheltering displaced people in the city of Beni Suheila.
The Israeli military said it killed two men who crossed into Israeli-controlled territory, “carrying out suspicious activities” and approaching soldiers. There is no mention of children in the statement. The army said it also killed another man in a separate but similar incident in the south.
At least 352 Palestinians have been killed across the territory since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel says its strikes are aimed at militants violating the ceasefire. Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the agreement. Hamas again urged mediators on Saturday to pressure Israel to stop ceasefire violations in Gaza.
A US blueprint outlining the future of Gaza, which has been devastated by more than two years of war, is still in the early stages. The plan to secure and control the territory authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to oversee US President Donald Trump, and envisions a possible path to an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli forces have advanced on several other fronts in the region in recent weeks.
Israeli forces raided a Syrian village on Friday and opened fire when they encountered residents, killing at least 13 people, Syrian officials said. Israel said it had launched an operation to capture suspects from a terrorist group planning attacks in Israel and that the militants opened fire on soldiers, wounding six.
Israel has also stepped up attacks in Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and claiming the terrorist group is attempting to re-arm.
Despite a ceasefire that ended a 14-month war between the two sides a year ago, Hezbollah called on Pope Leo XIV to “reject injustice and aggression” in the context of almost daily Israeli attacks. The Pope is visiting the region on his first trip abroad.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinians accused Israeli soldiers of killing two people on Thursday, after footage broadcast by two Arab television stations showed the soldiers shooting after they surrendered. The Israeli military said it was investigating.
Violence by Israeli settlers is continuously increasing in the West Bank. On Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said 10 Palestinians were wounded by beatings and live ammunition during settler attacks on the village of Khalet al-Lauza, near Bethlehem.
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