Gaza death toll tops 69,000 as Israel and militants again exchange remains
The latest increase in deaths comes as more bodies have been found and more bodies identified in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated since the ceasefire began on October 10. This figure also includes Palestinians killed in attacks that Israel says targeted the remaining militants.
Israel returned the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Saturday, according to hospital officials there; a day after militants returned the remains of a hostage to Israel. He was identified as Lior Rudaeff, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Rudaeff was born in Argentina.
The exchanges form the central part of the first phase of the ceasefire, which requires Hamas to return all hostage remains as soon as possible. Families and supporters gathered again in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to welcome everyone back.
The ceasefire aims to end the deadliest and most destructive war ever between Israel and a Palestinian militant group. It all started with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Also on Saturday, Israeli settlers launched two attacks on Palestinian farmers and others in the occupied West Bank as settler violence reached new levels during this year’s olive harvest. ‘I have not lost hope’ Israel is releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians in exchange for every Israeli hostage returned. Ahmed Dheir, forensic director of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, said the remains of 300 people had been returned and 89 had been identified. “We don’t have enough resources or DNA to match them with the families of the martyrs,” Dheir said. Those whose identities are unknown will be buried in groups.
Hopeful families looked at body bags of decomposed remains. “Shut it down, it’s not that,” one family said.
The mother of the missing child, who did not give her name, said, “I always come here. I haven’t lost hope. I’m still waiting.”
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said the number of people killed there since the start of the war had risen to 69,169. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government and is staffed by medical experts, keeps detailed records that are generally considered reliable by independent experts.
The ministry said 284 people were added to the total number after their identities were verified between October 31 and November 7.
The ministry said 10 bodies had been brought to hospitals in Gaza in the past three days, nine of which had been pulled from the rubble and one of whom had just been killed. It was stated that 241 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began.
It was also stated that many Palestinians were missing.
The Israeli army said on Saturday that soldiers killed two militants who approached the troops, one in northern Gaza and the other in the south.
Israeli settler attack Palestinian health officials said that 11 people, including journalists, medics, international activists and farmers, were injured in the attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank town of Beita. Activists and medics flocked to this year’s olive harvest to help Palestinian farmers reach their fields safely.
The U.N. humanitarian office said there were more Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and their West Bank property in October than in any other month since the office began tracking in 2006. The office said there were over 260 attacks.
Longtime activist Jonathan Pollak told The Associated Press that while he was picking olives, dozens of masked, stick-armed Israeli settlers descended, chasing people and throwing rocks. Pollak was shot in the head and taken to the hospital.
Pollak said he saw five settlers swarming over a journalist and a security guard. He watched as the settlers beat and clubbed him, crushing his helmet.
A Reuters spokesman said that two of his colleagues, although they identified themselves as journalists, were “attacked by a group of men with sticks and stones” and both were injured. The spokesman called on Israeli authorities to investigate and hold those responsible accountable.
The Israeli military said it dispersed a clash “that broke out between Israeli civilians and Palestinians during an uncoordinated olive harvest in an area that required prior coordination” and that many Palestinians were injured.
Human rights groups say arrests for settler violence are rare, and prosecutions even rarer. Israel’s left-wing Haaretz newspaper reported in 2022, based on Israeli police statistics, that charges were filed in only 3.8% of cases of settler violence, and most cases were closed without any action.
Also on Saturday, Palestinian medics reported another settler attack in the nearby village of Burin. The Palestinian Red Crescent said settlers injured four international activists and a 57-year-old man.
The Israeli army said soldiers responded to a report of rocks being thrown at an Israeli vehicle, and then Israeli civilians threw rocks at combine harvesters. It was stated that Israeli and Palestinian civilians were injured.
