Gaza Death Toll Surpasses 70,000 Despite Ceasefire: Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis Persists

The health ministry in Hamas-administered Gaza announced Saturday that the death toll has exceeded 70,000 people since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began over two years ago.

This grim milestone comes as the recently implemented US-brokered ceasefire remains in place, though fragile, with both parties accusing each other of violating the agreement's terms.

According to Gaza's health ministry statement, the war's casualties have now reached 70,100 individuals.

The ministry reported that since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Israeli fire has resulted in 354 Palestinian fatalities.

In the past 48 hours, two bodies were brought to hospitals in the Gaza Strip, with one recovered from beneath rubble.

Officials explained that the significant increase from previous casualty reports was due to the processing and verification of data related to 299 bodies by relevant authorities.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, Gaza continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis.

The conflict was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which claimed 1,221 Israeli lives.

During that attack, militants abducted 251 people and took them into Gaza.

When the current ceasefire began, militants were holding 20 living hostages and the remains of 28 deceased captives.

Since then, Hamas has released all living hostages and returned the remains of 26 deceased captives.

In exchange, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned the bodies of hundreds of deceased Palestinians.