Gaza death toll tops 73,000 as strikes continue despite ceasefire

The Gaza Health Ministry reported that the Palestinian death toll from the Israel‑Hamas war has risen to 73,001, with more than 173,200 people injured. The tally includes five deaths recorded on Sunday – two in Khan Youni​s, one in central Gaza and two who succumbed to earlier wounds – and at least four killed in an airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp. Israel says its operations target Hamas militants and are a response to cease‑fire violations, but the strikes persist despite the U.S.‑brokered ceasefire agreed in October. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the truce. The conflict has displaced over two million Palestinians, left large parts of the enclave in rubble and created severe shortages of food, medicine and other essentials. A key obstacle to a durable peace remains Hamas’s disarmament, which both sides accuse the other of violating, while international mediators continue efforts to revive the stalled agreement.