Israel’s war on Gaza: death toll rises to over 71,000

The death toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has risen to an estimated 71,266 people, as reported by the Middle East Eye and agencies on December 27th.

This is according to information from the Palestinian Health Ministry on December 27th. Reportedly, four people had been killed by Israeli fire within 48 hours, while the bodies of 25 people were recovered and taken to hospitals.

Despite the US-backed ceasefire coming into effect on October 10th, Israel has been accused of repeated violations of the deal.

On December 24th, it was reported that Israel’s army had launched airstrikes and targeted areas with tank fire along the so-called “yellow line“, which represents areas of Gaza under Israeli control.

Concerns have been raised over the potential de facto partition of Gaza through the establishment of the yellow line, amid reports that soldiers had been moving markers, further restricting Palestinian movement.

In a speech, Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that Israeli forces would remain in Gaza, stating that the Israeli military is “located deep inside Gaza, and we will never leave all of Gaza.”

Katz also announced plans to construct Jewish settlements in Gaza, despite settlement expansion being widely recognised as illegal under international law.

At a ceremony celebrating the construction of 1,200 housing units in the West Bank, Katz stated that Israel would construct Nahal settlements in northern Gaza “when the time is right.”

At least two groups of Israeli settlers have attempted to establish settlement outposts in Gaza in December, with one group being affiliated with the far-right Nachala Movement.

Currently, more than 700,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem, with another 25,000 residing in Syria’s Golan Heights, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

Since 2007, Israel has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Gaza, which led to electricity supply shortages and around two-thirds of households being considered food insecure in 2019.

The already dire conditions have deteriorated further amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, while Israeli politicians have expressed an increasingly blatant disregard for Palestinian life.

This open contempt for Palestinian life is also reflected in the Israeli authorities’ apparent failure to protect Palestinians from Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org