Gaza death toll passes 72,000 as rubble recoveries continue

GAZA CITY: The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 72,267 since the start of the conflict in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, with the majority of victims reported to be women and children. At least 171,976 others have 
been injured.
The figures are not complete, because many bodies are still trapped under rubble and inaccessible to rescue teams and ambulances, the Palestinian News & Information Agency reported.
Violence has persisted in Gaza despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025.
Since then, the Health Ministry has recorded 691 additional deaths and 1,876 injuries.
At least 756 bodies have also been recovered from under the rubble during this period.
Medical sources reported that the bodies of two Palestinians and 17 injured people arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
The territory’s civil defense agency said a fireball erupted over Gaza on Wednesday as an Israeli strike tore through a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians, killing one person and injuring seven.
The strike hit the Al-Sitt camp in the Deir Al-Balah area, said the civil defense agency.
AFP photographs showed flames engulfing the tents, sending thick black smoke into the sky.
Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital confirmed the toll.
Suhaila Khalil, 57, who lives in a tent in the area, said she heard screams as the strike tore through the camp.
“The explosion happened several hundred meters from our tent, but smoke and shrapnel rained down on displaced people, leaving several injured,” Khalil said.
Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have been living in makeshift camps since the war erupted after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.