Gaza death toll from Israel-Hamas war tops 45,000, Palestinians say

The death toll in the Gaza Strip from the 14-month war between Israel and Hamas militants has topped 45,000 people, Palestinian health officials said Monday.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the real toll is likely higher because thousands of bodies are still buried under rubble or in areas that medics cannot access.

Almost 107,000 have been injured since the start of the war, the ministry added.

It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.

The latest war has been by far the deadliest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas, with the death toll now amounting to roughly 2% of Gaza’s entire prewar population of about 2.3 million.

It comes amid another set of Israeli strikes in Gaza City’s eastern Shijaiyah neighborhood over the weekend, where rescuers recovered the bodies of ten people from under the rubble, including those of two parents and their two children.

Israel claims Hamas is responsible for the civilian death toll because it operates from within civilian areas in the densely populated Gaza Strip.

Rights groups and Palestinians say Israel has failed to take sufficient precautions to avoid civilian deaths.

The latest conflict began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250.

Israel responded by heavy bombardment and a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Most of the rest were released during a ceasefire last year.

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