More than 50,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in Gaza war since Israel’s war with Hamas began. According to the territory’s health ministry on Sunday. It marks a heartbreaking milestone in a conflict that shows no sign of ending. As Israel continues its attacks and warns that even harder days are ahead.
The Gaza’s health ministry said 41 more people died in Gaza war in the last 24 hours. Israeli attacks have killed at least 50,021 Palestinians.
Officials in Gaza do not separate civilians from Hamas fighters in their reports. The health ministry and the United Nations say most of the dead are women and children. Thousands of people remain trapped under the rubble, so the actual death toll could be even higher.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the Hamas-controlled ministry reports casualty figures that are “fraught with discrepancies and misleading conclusions” . The IDF also claimed that the ministry often includes deaths that are not related to the ongoing conflict. Such as deaths due to natural causes and entrenched values.
The number of deaths increased sharply as Israel restarted its Gaza war with Hamas this week, ending a two-month ceasefire in Gaza. On Tuesday, airstrikes made it one of the deadliest days for Palestinians since theGaza war began, with more than 400 people killed by Israeli attacks, according to the health ministry. By Wednesday, Israel had also restarted its ground operations in the area.
Israel started a war against Hamas in Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the group launched a surprise attack on southern Israel. The attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
Hamas called Israel’s new attacks a “serious and dangerous violation” of the ceasefire agreement. The group says it still follows the ceasefire deal it made with Israel in January, but on Thursday, it fired rockets at Israel for the first time since the truce ended.
People in Gaza have little hope that the violence will stop, as Israeli officials warn that even worse attacks are coming.
On Friday, Katz said he told the Israeli military to take control of more areas in Gaza.
Almost all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people have been forced to leave their homes. The healthcare system is badly damaged, with hospitals often caught in the fighting. A humanitarian crisis is growing, with famine in some areas. Earlier this month, Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza, and its latest attacks are making it harder to deliver supplies.
Talks to extend the ceasefire have not made progress since it started on January 19.
Hamas wants to follow the original agreement made with Israel in January. Under this plan, both sides would have moved to the next phase on March 1. In this phase, Israel would have had to leave Gaza completely and agree to permanently end the war. In return, Hamas would free all the hostages who are still alive.
The second phase never happened, and Israel restarted the war. It said Hamas refused “two clear peace proposals” from the U.S. and also made “threats to attack Israeli soldiers and communities.” Because of this, Israel said it had reason to continue its attacks on Gaza.
Israel admits that many Palestinian civilians have died in the war but argues that the health ministry’s numbers are too high. It also says Hamas hides among civilians and uses them as “human shields.”
However, both the United Nations and the U.S. State Department have said they believe the health ministry’s numbers are correct. Some independent studies suggest the real number of deaths may be even higher.
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