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- Gaza death toll reaches 72,938 with more than 172,000 injured since October 2023
A Palestinian was killed and several others injured on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike targeting the city of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli warplanes carried out the attack on the city.
Medical sources in the Gaza Strip announced on Saturday that the death toll from the Israeli military offensive on Gaza had risen to 72,938 Palestinians killed and 172,919 injured since October 2023.
According to the sources, hospitals across the Gaza Strip received the bodies of seven Palestinians over the past 24 hours, including six newly killed victims and one person who succumbed to previous injuries.
Another 25 wounded Palestinians were also admitted for treatment.
The sources added that since the start of the current ceasefire on Oct. 11, 2025, the number of Palestinians killed had reached 929, while the number of injuries had risen to 2,811.
In addition, 781 bodies have been recovered from different areas of the Strip.
Health authorities said that an unknown number of victims remain trapped beneath the rubble or lying in inaccessible areas, as ambulance and rescue teams continue to face difficulties reaching them due to ongoing hostilities and dangerous conditions on the ground.
An Israeli strike recently killed Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed leader of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, less than two weeks after his predecessor was also killed.
Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of a “blatant violation” of the October 2025 ceasefire after he ordered the army to seize more territory in the Gaza Strip.
“In a blatant violation of all agreements, as is their usual practice, Netanyahu announced expanding control over 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, while the killing and starvation continue,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said.
Hamas spokesman, Hazem Qassem, also condemned the “complete silence” of the Board of Peace and its high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, on the topic.
Failing to condemn Israel’s expansionist policies and forced displacement plans raised serious questions about the extent of the sponsoring parties’ commitment to making Israel adhere to its obligations under the ceasefire deal, Qassem said in a separate statement.
