The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, led by the Palestinian Hamas movement, announced today that more than 70,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territories since the start of the war caused by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
This new balance comes a month and a half after a fragile ceasefire was reached with US mediation. Both sides accuse each other of violating it.
The ministry said the total number of conflict-related casualties had reached 70,100 and that 354 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began on October 10. The ministry added that two bodies had arrived at Gaza hospitals in the past 48 hours, one of whom was pulled from the rubble, as the war ravaged the territory.
The October 7 attack has killed 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to data AFP has collected from official sources.
In total, 251 people were kidnapped during Hamas attacks and taken to Gaza, reports france24.
As part of the ceasefire, Hamas released 20 live prisoners it was still holding and returned the bodies of 26 of the 28 dead prisoners.
In contrast, Israel released about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.
