Over 70,000 Dead in Gaza Since the Start of Israeli Offensive, According to Hamas Health Ministry
According to the Hamas-led Ministry of Health, over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the initiation of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. This information was reported by the BBC on its website this Sunday.
The death toll continues to rise since a ceasefire came into effect on October 10, with Israel still conducting airstrikes that it justifies by alleging violations of the truce, while bodies continue to be discovered under the rubble.
Among the victims of an Israeli drone strike on Saturday were two young brothers, Fadi and Juma Abu Assi, whose family claims they were collecting wood when they were killed.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) informed the BBC that they targeted two suspects who had crossed the "red line."
This line marks the area to which the Israeli military had agreed to withdraw as part of a ceasefire negotiated by the United States over seven weeks ago.
The two boys who were killed were described in the media as an eight-year-old child and his brother, aged 10 or 11 years.
According to their relatives, they were searching for wood to burn in the east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, when they were struck.
Their funeral was held on Saturday at Nasser Hospital.
The figures provided by the Gaza Health Ministry have been widely used since the onset of the war and are considered reliable by the United Nations (UN) and other international institutions. However, Israel regularly disputes the data published by Gaza authorities.
International journalists, including the BBC, are not allowed by Israel to independently enter Gaza and therefore cannot verify the death tolls provided by either side.
The Gaza Health Ministry claims that the number of Palestinian deaths now stands at 70,100, including over 350 fatalities recorded since the ceasefire on October 10.
The Israeli military launched its offensive against Gaza in response to the attack carried out by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
