GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israel continued strikes and demolitions across the Gaza Strip over the weekend despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is holding.
Gaza health officials said the recovery of new dead bodies from under the debris has pushed the Palestinian enclave’s death toll to more than 69,169 since October 2023.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said one person was killed and six others wounded in Israeli strikes over the past three days.
Rescuers also recovered nine bodies from earlier Israeli attacks, officials added. Those figures bring the total number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 2023 to about 69,169, with roughly 170,685 wounded, the ministry said.
Health officials say the latest rise largely reflects bodies recovered from under rubble and the identification of previously unidentified remains.
Body exchanges and hostage remains
The United States-brokered truce envisages a reciprocal exchange of the dead bodies of Israeli hostages and Palestinians.
Israeli authorities said Hamas returned the remains of an Israeli man, later identified as Lior Rudaeff, while Israel handed back 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza via the Red Cross.
Gaza hospital officials confirmed the receipt of 15 bodies in Khan Younis. Since the ceasefire took effect, Hamas has returned the remains of 23 hostages; five deceased captives are still reported to be in Gaza under the terms of the agreement.
Israeli settlers’ violence in West Bank
The United Nations said Israeli settlers carried out 264 attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during October — the highest monthly total since UN monitoring began in 2006.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the incidents caused casualties and property damage and led to displacement and loss of livelihoods for many Palestinians. UN officials described the surge as unprecedented in recent years.
Humanitarian agencies say aid flows to Gaza remain well short of needs. The UN and aid groups warn that critical relief — food, fuel, water and medical supplies — is insufficient given the scale of destruction.
Palestinian representatives at the COP30 climate summit also warned of deteriorating environmental and public-health conditions in Gaza, citing damaged sewage systems, contaminated groundwater and millions of tonnes of rubble that pose long-term health risks.
International diplomacy
Across diplomacy corridors, tensions have escalated further. Turkish authorities announced arrest warrants this week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials on charges related to alleged atrocities in Gaza.
The move followed earlier international legal actions and has deepened diplomatic strains.
The truce has produced limited, tangible steps — including exchanges of remains and some prisoner movements — but violence and demolitions have continued in parts of Gaza and the West Bank.
