Key points
- Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza
- Settler violence in West Bank injures 11
- UN reports record settler attacks in October
GAZA, Palestine: Gaza health officials reported that over 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict so far, with casualties rising as bodies continue to be recovered from the rubble.
The increase in deaths includes those identified after the ceasefire began on October 10, along with Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes since the truce. These attacks, Israel states, are allegedly aimed at eliminating remaining enemies, reports AP News.
The fragile ceasefire has seen continued exchanges of bodies under its terms. Israel returned 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza on Saturday, while Hamas handed over the remains of an Israeli hostage to Israel a day earlier.
These exchanges are central to the ceasefire agreement, which seeks the return of all hostage remains swiftly.
Since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported 69,169 deaths, with 284 additional people identified between October 31 and November 7. Over the past three days, 10 bodies were recovered, along with six injured. The ministry added that many Palestinians remain missing. Since October 10, 241 people have died in Gaza.
Settler violence
As part of the ongoing body exchanges, Israel confirmed that one of the recently returned remains belonged to Israeli hostage Lior Rudaeff, who died during the October 2023 attack. Rudaeff, originally from Argentina, had volunteered for over 40 years as an ambulance driver. For every Israeli hostage returned, Israel has handed over the remains of 15 Palestinians.
In the West Bank, settler violence has reached new heights. On Saturday, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers, paramedics, activists, and journalists during the olive harvest.
Eleven people were injured in the attack in Beita, part of a disturbing trend of settler violence. The UN reported over 260 settler attacks in October alone, marking the highest number since monitoring began in 2006.
Volunteers and activists have been working to protect Palestinian farmers, but they, too, have been targeted.
