New wave of Israeli strikes in southern Gaza as death toll surpasses 70,000

Israeli warplanes launched new airstrikes on several areas of the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, on both sides of the "yellow line," as the death toll from the war of annihilation waged against the Palestinian enclave surpassed 70,000, according to the Health Ministry.

These early-morning attacks targeted the al-Bureij refugee camp and the city of Rafah, where the Israeli army confirmed it had killed four men identified as Hamas fighters "while they were coming out of tunnels."

Meanwhile, two Palestinian teenagers were killed Saturday in an Israeli drone strike in Bani Souheila, east of Khan Younis (south), where five people were injured. According to witnesses cited by Al Jazeera's local correspondents, the drones dropped a bomb on a group of civilians near the al-Farabi school, killing two brothers, Joumaa and Fadi Tamer Abu Assi. These new victims add to the more than 70,000 people officially recorded as killed by the territory's health authorities since the start of the Israeli offensive on Oct. 7, 2023.

This latest figure comes a month and a half after the implementation of a fragile cease-fire brokered by the United States, as daily Israeli strikes continue to target the besieged enclave.

In a statement, the Health Ministry announced that the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks since the start of the offensive has reached 70,100, and that 354 Palestinians have been killed since the truce went into effect on Oct. 10. The increase from the previous count, according to the same source, is explained by the validation of data regarding 299 additional bodies by the authorities.

The ministry also stated that two bodies were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 48 hours, including one that was buried under the rubble. Many people remain missing in the devastated territory.