Israel’s Gaza ‘ceasefire’ death toll tops 600
Thousands of Palestinians have been killed and wounded in Gaza since October, when a US-backed ceasefire was declared, as Israeli airstrikes have continued, local health officials say.
The truce, brokered as part of a plan backed by US President Donald Trump, was presented as a step toward reducing violence in Gaza and allowing reconstruction to begin. Both Israel and Hamas have since routinely accused each other of violating the agreement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Monday that 603 people had been killed and more than 1,600 injured since the ceasefire came into force on October 11. An unspecified number of bodies “remain under the rubble and in the streets,” as rescue teams cannot safely reach many areas, the officials added.
Local media reported that Israeli forces killed at least ten Palestinians in airstrikes late on Saturday and into Sunday. One strike reportedly hit a tent sheltering displaced families west of Jabalia in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military said the “precise” strikes were carried out in accordance with international law and described them as a response to a “ceasefire violation” by Hamas. An Israeli official reportedly claimed that “terrorists emerged from a tunnel east of the yellow line,” referring to a military boundary unilaterally imposed inside Gaza after the truce.
Most post-ceasefire killings have reportedly occurred along this so-called ‘Yellow Line’, a designated no-go zone barring Palestinians from large areas of the enclave. Rights groups have condemned repeated Israeli operations there as truce violations, saying the cordon has expanded westward and now covers roughly 58% of Gaza’s land area.
The latest strikes come days before the inaugural meeting of Trump’s newly formed ‘Board of Peace’, scheduled for February 19. Established in mid-January, the US-led body is intended to oversee reconstruction, security, and political transition in Gaza.
Under the plan, day-to-day governance in Gaza is to be handed to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body that would operate under the authority of the Board of Peace. Trump has described the board as a quasi-alternative to the UN with intended influence “far beyond” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas has said it is ready to hand over governance to the NCAG but will only disarm if Israeli forces fully withdraw from Gaza.
Trump named himself chairman of the Board of Peace and invited dozens of foreign leaders to join. Israel has reportedly accepted the invitation, while several European states – including France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK – have declined. Russia has confirmed it received an invitation and said it is studying the proposal. Permanent membership beyond an initial three-year period will reportedly require a contribution of $1 billion.
Trump said that members of the Board of Peace have pledged “thousands of personnel” and billions of dollars, describing the deployment as part of efforts to maintain “security and peace” in Gaza.
The armistice paused a conflict which began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. West Jerusalem responded with a blockade and a military operation in Gaza, which has killed over 72,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health officials.
