Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 70,100 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, with casualties rising even during the truce.
Two Palestinian children were reportedly killed by Israeli fire near a school sheltering displaced families in southern Gaza.
Israel blames militants for truce violations as both sides trade accusations while the U.S. works on a post-war governance plan for Gaza.
Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday that the number of Palestinian deaths since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict had exceeded 70,000, while a hospital reported that two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli fire in the south of the territory.
Since the most recent truce went into effect on October 10, the death toll has kept rising. Bodies from earlier in the conflict are being found among the debris, and Israel continues to launch strikes in retaliation for what it claims are truce violations.
According to the Health Ministry, there are currently 70,100 reported Palestinian deaths. The government of Hamas oversees the ministry. It employs medical specialists and keeps thorough records that the world community considers to be generally trustworthy.
The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and militants taking more than 250 hostages. Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.
Staff at Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies of the children in southern Gaza, said the brothers, ages 8 and 11, died when an Israeli drone struck close to a school sheltering displaced people in the town of Beni Suhaila.
Two individuals who crossed into an area under Israeli control, "conducted suspicious activities," and approached forces were killed, according to the Israeli military. Children were not mentioned in the statement. In a separate but similar incident in the south, the military claimed to have also killed another civilian.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, at least 352 Palestinians have died throughout the region since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on October 10.
Israel says its strikes are aimed at militants violating the truce. Both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of violating the deal. Hamas again urged mediators on Saturday to pressure Israel to stop what it called ceasefire violations in Gaza.
A U.S. blueprint outlining the future of Gaza, which has been devastated by more than two years of war, is still in the early stages. The plan to secure and govern the territory authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli forces have pushed forward on a number of other fronts in the region in recent weeks.
With AP input.
