The dead toll in Gaza has risen to over 25,000, local health officials reported Sunday, as Israel continues its battle to eradicate the threat posed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 25,105 individuals have been killed and nearly 62,600 have been injured since Hamas launched its surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7.
The Health Ministry reported that 178 dead had been transported to Gaza’s hospitals since Saturday.
The overall death toll is believed to be higher as several bodies remain under the rubble from Israeli strikes or in places where medics are unable to reach them, Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said, per the Associated Press.
The numbers come more than 100 days since the start of the war, sparked by Hamas’s incursion into Israel that left about 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians.
An estimated 250 people were taken hostage during these attacks and Hamas released about 100 hostages during a week-long cease-fire in November.
Israel responded to the Oct. 7 attacks by quickly launching a major counteroffensive in Gaza that has included attacks by air and a ground invasion into northern Gaza.
With much of the northern part of the enclave leveled by Israel’s attacks, Israeli forces have moved their focus to the southern city of Khan Younis and refugee camps in central Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has largely rejected international calls for a cease-fire, maintaining Israel will not stop its offensive until achieving “complete victory” over Hamas and seeing the return of the remaining hostages.
