Palestinian death toll in Israel-Hamas war climbs above 66,000

Patients receive care at a field hospital run by the British humanitarian medical NGO UK-Med in Muwasi, near Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, Gaza’s Health Ministry has said.

The ministry said in its daily report on Sunday that the death toll has now climbed to 66,005, with a further 168,162 injured since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack which sparked the war.

Among the dead were 79 who were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, it added.

Israel’s military is continuing its operation in Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington and is set to meet US President Donald Trump on Monday.

Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.

The health ministry, part of the Hamas-run administration, does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll, but has said women and children make up around half the dead.

Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate by the UN and many independent experts.