Gaza death toll tops 70,000 as two more Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes
- Last updated: November 29, 2025 | 22:07 ..
The number of people confirmed killed in Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip has passed the 70,000 mark, the enclave's health ministry said on Saturday.
A total of 301 people have been added to the toll since Thursday, taking it to 70,100, the ministry added. Two died in recent Israeli strikes, the rest were identified from remains buried for some time in the rubble, according to the statement.
Earlier, an Israeli attack killed two children in Gaza, medics and relatives said, in violence that has persisted in the Palestinian enclave despite a fragile ceasefire.
The children's uncle said an Israeli drone fired on Fadi and Goma Abu Assi, brothers aged 10 and 12, while they were gathering firewood to help their wheelchair-bound father east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
"They are children...what did they do? They do not have missiles or bombs, they went to gather wood for their father so he can start a fire," Mohamed Abu Assi told Reuters as their funeral took place. At the funeral, the children's father wept over the body of one of the boys whose white shroud had been peeled back to show his face.
BODIES IDENTIFIED IN RUBBLE
Israel's bombardment of Gaza has left much of the strip in ruins, making it difficult to gather accurate information on casualties.
In the first months of the war, officials counted bodies that arrived in hospitals and registered names and identity numbers.
In the later stages, Gaza health authorities said they held off including thousands of reported deaths in the official tally until forensic, medical and legal checks could be made.
Since a fragile ceasefire took hold on October 10, the reported death toll has kept climbing steadily as authorities there take advantage of the relative calm to search for bodies in the wreckage.
Moaz Mghari said he had lost 62 relatives, including his parents and four siblings, in a series of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed two residential buildings near the entrance to Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip.
He told Reuters he had been at a nearby clothing shop when he heard the sound of explosions and the sky turned dark with dust. He rushed home to find his family's building turned to rubble.
"Then I began to realize what happened, I lost everything, I lost everyone," Mghari, said.
Pre-war Gaza had robust population statistics and better health information systems than in most Middle East countries, public health experts told Reuters.
The UN often cites the health ministry's death figures and says they are credible. (
Reuters