Death toll from Gaza war surpasses 70,000, as ceasefire largely holds
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A boy pushes a bucket as children fill their containers with water at the Nuseirat camp for displaced Palestinians in central Gaza.
PHOTO: AFP
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GAZA CITY – The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Nov 28 more than 70,000 people have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted more than two years ago.
The milestone comes as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire largely holds, but with both sides accusing the other of violating the terms of the deal.
In a statement, Gaza’s health ministry said the death toll from the war had risen to 70,100.
The ministry said since the ceasefire came into effect on Oct 10
Two bodies arrived at hospitals in Gaza in the past 48 hours, the ministry said, one of which was recovered from beneath the rubble.
The ministry said the spike from the last death toll was because the data relating to 299 bodies had been processed and approved by the authorities.
Despite the ceasefire, the Palestinian territory remains in a deep humanitarian crisis.
The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel
On that day, militants abducted 251 people into Gaza.
At the start of the latest ceasefire, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.
Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 26 dead hostages.
In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians. AFP
