The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 70,000 since the conflict began in 2023, according to Gaza’s health ministry on Saturday. In the latest attack, a hospital in southern Gaza reported that two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli fire.
The casualties have continued to mount even after the ceasefire that took effect on October 10. The health ministry, operating under the Hamas-run administration, now reports the total at 70,100 people.
The war began on October 7, 2023, with a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and left 250 hostages. Almost all hostages, or their remains, have since been returned through ceasefires or negotiated exchanges.
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According to staff at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies of the two boys, the brothers, aged 8 and 11, were killed when an Israeli drone struck near a school sheltering displaced families in Beni Suheila during the latest assault.
Israel's military statement
Israel’s military said it had killed two people who crossed into an Israeli-controlled area, “conducted suspicious activities” and approached troops. The statement made no mention of children. The army added that it killed another person in a separate, similar incident in the south.
Since the start of the Trump-brokered truce, at least 352 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza, according to the health ministry.
Israel maintains that it has not violated the ceasefire and says its operations target militants accused of breaking the truce. On Saturday, Hamas again urged mediators to press Israel to halt what it described as ceasefire violations in Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces said they had targeted two suspects who crossed what it described as the “yellow line.” This line marks the position to which Israeli forces agreed to pull back under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire more than seven weeks ago.
