The ministry said the total number of deaths since the start of the conflict had reached 73,001, according to Zaher Al-Waheidi, head of its records department, and Hamza Salem from its public relations department.
Five Palestinians were killed over the weekend, including two in the southern city of Khan Younis and one in central Gaza, while two others died from earlier injuries, the ministry said.

More than 173,200 people have been wounded since the war began after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said an Israeli strike on Saturday evening killed two Palestinians in Khan Younis, with the casualties taken to Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

The Gaza Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-led administration, is staffed by medical professionals and keeps detailed casualty records that United Nations agencies and independent experts have generally considered reliable. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its overall figures.

The ministry has said women and children account for around half of those killed.

Israel says it seeks to avoid civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of operating in densely populated areas. The Israeli military says its operations target militants and are conducted in response to security threats and alleged violations of the ceasefire.

The US-brokered ceasefire agreement reached in October halted large-scale military operations and resulted in the release of remaining hostages.
However, implementation of other parts of the agreement has stalled, with disagreements over Hamas disarmament and Israeli troop movements.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the deal while maintaining that it remains in force.
Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began.

The talks come as negotiations remain deadlocked over Hamas’s disarmament and Israel’s military presence in Gaza. A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya is expected to attend discussions in El-Alamein.

Hamas said progress was possible if Israel showed willingness to reach an agreement, while reiterating its rejection of disarmament under Israeli conditions.

The meeting follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order for the military to take control of 70% of Gaza, a move Hamas called a violation of the ceasefire.

Medics said the strike hit an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing Mohammad Abu Mallouh, his wife Alaa Zaqlan and their infant son, Osama. The family was reportedly asleep when the attack occurred.Later on Sunday, Palestinian medical officials said a separate incident in northern Gaza left another Palestinian man dead after Israeli gunfire near a United Nations-operated medical clinic in the Jabalia refugee camp.

The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on either incident.At Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, relatives gathered to mourn the three family members as their bodies, wrapped in white shrouds, were prepared for burial.

The infant’s grandmother, Umm Hamza Abu Mallouh, told Reuters that the family had been sleeping together when the strike hit their home. She said the couple left behind six daughters.Yehia Abu Mallouh, brother of the deceased father, said residents received no warning before the attack.

He told Reuters that family members awoke to the sound of an explosion and discovered the home had been struck while its occupants were asleep.The deaths come as Israel has resumed issuing evacuation orders across parts of Gaza, a practice that had largely diminished after the ceasefire brokered in October under the administration of Donald Trump.

The ceasefire has not halted military operations. Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked in indirect negotiations centered on the group’s disarmament and the future governance of Gaza.Under the current arrangement, Israel maintains control over more than half of the Gaza Strip, while Hamas retains authority over a smaller coastal area, according to the source material.

Gaza health officials say approximately 880 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire took effect. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Israeli military reports that four Israeli soldiers have been killed by Palestinian militants during the same period.Israel has said that post-ceasefire military actions are intended to prevent attacks and stop individuals from approaching areas near the armistice line separating Israeli and Hamas-controlled territory.

The latest fatalities underscore the fragility of the truce and the continuing humanitarian toll of a conflict that has persisted despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure a more durable settlement.

Obay Al-Qarshli, 21, and Ahmed Al-Halabi, 23, have drawn attention online after painting a mural of Spanish football player Lamine Yamal amid the ruins of Gaza.

The artists said their work seeks to acknowledge international figures and activists who have voiced support for Palestinians during the conflict.

“We try to thank every person who supports Gaza and send them a message of gratitude from Gaza,” Al-Qarshli told Arab News. “We in Gaza see them, we recognize them, and we appreciate what they are doing for us.”

The pair said the project began with a mural dedicated to Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, who participated in the Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain in April in an attempt to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade.

According to the artists, Avila later shared the mural on social media, helping bring international visibility to their work.

The paintings are created under severe wartime conditions, with limited access to paint, damaged infrastructure and ongoing insecurity across Gaza after months of Israeli military operations that began in October 2023.

“Something that used to cost $5 now costs $20,” Al-Qarshli said of art supplies, adding that the materials are difficult to locate and often require long travel through devastated neighborhoods.

The artists said they frequently work atop unstable debris and partially collapsed buildings because few intact walls remain.

“Even if Gaza becomes only ruins, we will still deliver our message to the world,” Al-Halabi said.
Before the war, both artists said they worked in studios, participated in exhibitions and hoped to pursue international artistic careers through scholarships and residency programs abroad.

Al-Halabi said some of his artwork had been exhibited in Europe and the United States, but restrictions on movement and border closures prevented him from accompanying his work overseas.

“I want my art to be displayed abroad, but why can’t I stand next to it?” he said.
Al-Qarshli said approximately 30 of his earlier works, including pieces previously displayed in galleries and a local museum in Gaza, were destroyed after the conflict began.

He stopped painting for a period before resuming with a piece depicting repeated displacement experienced by Gazans during the war.

Both artists said they had received educational opportunities abroad, including a university acceptance in Germany, but remained unable to leave Gaza because of restrictions on movement.

The conflict has severely disrupted daily life in Gaza, where shortages of electricity, water, food and fuel continue to affect residents and limit artistic work, including access to lighting and transportation.

Speaking during an address to his party congress in Ramallah, Abbas reaffirmed commitments to institutional reform but stopped short of announcing a timetable for any vote.

“We renew our full commitment to continuing work on implementing all the reform measures we pledged,” Abbas said. “We are ready to hold presidential and legislative elections.”The remarks come amid increasing pressure from the United States, the European Union and several Arab governments for the Palestinian leadership to modernize institutions, address corruption allegations and restore political credibility.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank, has faced growing criticism from Palestinians over accusations of political stagnation, weak governance and declining public trust.

No presidential election has been held since 2005, when Abbas was elected following the death of Yasser Arafat. Parliamentary elections have repeatedly been postponed amid deep divisions between Abbas’ Fatah movement and rival faction Hamas.

International calls for reform have intensified alongside wider diplomatic discussions over the future governance of Palestinian territories amid continuing regional instability and the conflict in Gaza Strip.

Speaking during an address to his party congress in Ramallah, Abbas reaffirmed commitments to institutional reform but stopped short of announcing a timetable for any vote.“We renew our full commitment to continuing work on implementing all the reform measures we pledged,” Abbas said.

“We are ready to hold presidential and legislative elections.”The remarks come amid increasing pressure from the United States, the European Union and several Arab governments for the Palestinian leadership to modernize institutions, address corruption allegations and restore political credibility.

The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank, has faced growing criticism from Palestinians over accusations of political stagnation, weak governance and declining public trust.

No presidential election has been held since 2005, when Abbas was elected following the death of Yasser Arafat. Parliamentary elections have repeatedly been postponed amid deep divisions between Abbas’ Fatah movement and rival faction Hamas.

International calls for reform have intensified alongside wider diplomatic discussions over the future governance of Palestinian territories amid continuing regional instability and the conflict in Gaza Strip.

The bill passed the 120-seat Knesset by a vote of 93-0, with remaining lawmakers absent or abstaining, reflecting broad political backing for prosecuting suspects linked to the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.

The legislation creates a separate judicial framework to try individuals accused of involvement in the assault led by Hamas militants, who killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages during the cross-border attack in October 2023.

Under the new law, judges will be allowed to impose capital punishment through a majority decision rather than requiring unanimity. Appeals against verdicts or sentences will be heard by a dedicated appeals court rather than Israel’s regular judicial system.

The trials are also expected to be livestreamed from a courtroom in Jerusalem, prompting comparisons by critics to the televised 1962 trial of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, whose execution remains the only civilian use of the death penalty in Israel’s history.

Israeli and international rights organizations criticized the measure, arguing that it weakens fair trial protections and risks politicizing judicial proceedings.
Groups including Adalah, Hamoked and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel said accountability for the Oct. 7 attack should not come at the expense of established legal standards.

Critics also raised concerns over the admissibility and reliability of evidence potentially obtained through coercive interrogation methods, as well as the impact of broadcasting proceedings before convictions are secured.

The legislation is separate from another law passed earlier this year authorizing the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis. That measure applies only to future cases and does not cover suspects detained over the 2023 attack.

According to Israeli rights organizations, about 1,300 Palestinians from Gaza Strip remain in Israeli detention without formal charges, while thousands more have been detained and later released since the start of the war.

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to the Oct. 7 assault, has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, though United Nations agencies and international observers have generally considered its casualty reporting credible.

Simcha Rothman, a sponsor of the bill and member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, said the legislation demonstrated national unity around securing accountability for the attacks.

Medics said one Palestinian was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli airstrike near the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, while a separate Israeli tank shelling in the central part of the enclave killed another person and injured several more.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on the reported strikes.Hostilities have persisted in Gaza despite the truce, with near-daily incidents reported by local authorities. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire terms.At Al-Shifa Hospital, relatives gathered to mourn one of the victims, identified as Mohammed Al-Ghandour, according to hospital officials.

Witnesses described scenes of grief as family members assembled outside the morgue.Local medics say at least 830 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, while Israeli authorities report that militants have killed four Israeli soldiers over the same period.

Israel says its operations are aimed at preventing attacks by Hamas and other militant groups.More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war began in October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities, with civilians accounting for a majority of the casualties.

Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces have maintained control over more than half of the enclave, where large-scale destruction and displacement have left much of the population of over 2 million living in makeshift shelters or damaged buildings along the coast.

The authorities said that since a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10 last year, 830 Palestinians have been killed and 2,345 injured, indicating continued casualties despite the truce.

Officials added that many victims are believed to remain buried under rubble, suggesting the overall death toll could rise further as recovery efforts continue.

The figures, provided by health authorities in Gaza, could not be independently verified.

The move is expected to increase the daily flow of food, fuel and medicine through supervised crossings while military operations continue in parts of northern and central Gaza.

Aid agencies welcomed the decision but said implementation and safe access for relief convoys remain critical amid ongoing fighting and infrastructure collapse.