The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is more than 73,000, officials say, as Israel strikes despite a ceasefire.
Listen to this article
Average 3 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has passed 73,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday, despite a fragile ceasefire that has been described as suspended.
Israel has continued to strike inside the area despite an agreement reached in October, saying it is carrying out strikes against Hamas and other terrorist groups, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the deal.
Confirmation of the latest Palestinian charges came from Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the ministry’s records department, and Hamza Salem from the ministry’s public relations department.
The number of people who have died since the start of the war is now 73,001. On Sunday, the ministry said, five people were killed: two in the southern city of Khan Younis and one in central Gaza, more than two who died from earlier wounds.
More than 173,200 people have been injured since the start of the war, according to the Ministry of Health.
The war was started by an attack led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in Israel. That attack killed 1,200 people and 251 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
The Ministry of Health, which is part of the Hamas-led government, has medical staff and maintains detailed records that are generally considered reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children account for nearly half of all casualties.
Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas because the military operates in densely populated areas.
A cease-fire agreement with the US reached in October ended all military operations and led to the return of all remaining hostages.
But other parts of the deal have stalled as Hamas has refused to disarm and Israeli forces have moved into Gaza, rather than withdrawing. Both sides accuse the other of violating the agreement but say it is still in effect.
Progress on all other issues – including reconstruction, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the establishment of a new Palestinian government – has been delayed by the dispute over disarming Hamas, the top spokesman overseeing the US-imposed ceasefire in Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, said.
The war displaced most of the more than two million Palestinians, left large swathes of the land in ruins and created shortages of food, medicine and other basic goods as border crossings with Gaza – all but controlled by Israel – were rapidly closed.
