Gaza death toll tops 70,000, health ministry says

The number of people confirmed killed in Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip has passed the 70,000 mark, the enclave’s health ministry said on Saturday.

A total of 301 people have been added to the toll since Thursday, taking it to 70,100, the ministry added. Two died in recent Israeli strikes, the rest were identified from remains buried for some time in the rubble, according to the statement.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has questioned the accuracy of the figures from Gaza, though it has not published its own estimate.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza – triggered by the deadly October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel – has left much of the strip in ruins, making it difficult to gather accurate information on casualties.

In the first months of the war, officials counted bodies that arrived in hospitals and registered names and identity numbers.

In the later stages, Gaza health authorities said they held off including thousands of reported deaths in the official tally until forensic, medical and legal checks could be made.

Since a fragile ceasefire took hold on October 10, the reported death toll has kept climbing steadily as authorities there take advantage of the relative calm to search for bodies in the wreckage.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in their attack on southern Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has shattered whole families.

Moaz Mghari said he had lost 62 relatives, including his parents and four siblings, in a series of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed two residential buildings near the entrance to Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip.

He told Reuters he had been at a nearby clothing shop when he heard the sound of explosions and the sky turned dark with dust. He rushed home to find his family’s building turned to rubble.

“Then I began to realize what happened, I lost everything, I lost everyone,” Mghari, said.

Israel’s military has denied targeting civilians since the conflict started more than two years ago.

Pre-war Gaza had robust population statistics and better health information systems than in most Middle East countries, public health experts told Reuters.