Gaza death toll passes devastating 50,000 mark as Israel's war shows no sign of stopping

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Gaza's death toll has surpassed the devastating 50,000 mark, yet Israel's war shows no signs of slowing down, with continuing plans to expand its occupation deeper into the Palestinian Strip and advance efforts to forcibly displace its residents outside the territory.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday that at least 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 injured in Israel's offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The ministry said in the past 24 hours, at least 41 people were killed and 61 injured. It added that a total of 673 people have been killed since March 18 when Israel resumed its bombardments in the territory.

The return to the air strikes and ground operations that have devastated Gaza has drawn calls for a ceasefire from Arab and European countries. Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement calling on Israel to restore access for humanitarian aid.

The ceasefire that took hold in January paused 15 months of heavy fighting ignited by Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack into Israel. Twenty-five Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others were released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Israeli forces pulled back to a buffer zone, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to return to what remains of their homes, and there was a surge in humanitarian aid.

The sides were supposed to begin negotiations in early February on the next phase of the truce, in which Hamas was to release the remaining 59 hostages – 35 of whom are believed to be dead – in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Those talks never began, and Israel backed out of the ceasefire agreement after Hamas refused Israeli and US-backed proposals to release more hostages ahead of any talks on a lasting truce.

Tens of thousands of Israelis returned to the streets late Saturday in the latest of several mass protests calling for a deal that returns the hostages.

Late Saturday, Israel's security cabinet abinet approved a proposal to set up a new directorate tasked with advancing the “voluntary departure" of Palestinians in line with US President Donald Trump's proposal to depopulate Gaza and rebuild it for others. Palestinians say they do not want to leave their homeland, and rights groups have said the plan could amount to expulsion in violation of international law.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the new body would be “subject to Israeli and international law” and co-ordinate "passage by land, sea and air to the destination countries.”

Meanwhile, Hamas said political leader Salah Al Bardaweel was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza in the early hours of Sunday, as the Israeli army continues to intensify attacks across the territory and issuing renewed eviction orders.

The group said that Mr Al Bardaweel, a member of the Palestinian group's political office, and his wife were killed in an air strike on their tent in Khan Younis in southern Gaza while he was praying. “His blood, that of his wife and martyrs, will remain fuelling the battle of liberation and independence. The criminal enemy will not break our determination and will,” the group said.

Taher Al Nono, the media adviser of the Hamas leadership, mourned Mr Al Bardaweel's death in a post on his Facebook page.

Israel resumed significant strikes on Gaza on Tuesday, blaming Hamas, abandoning a ceasefire agreement that began on January 19 and ending almost two months of calm. Palestinian health officials said at least 400 people, more than half of them women and children, in the Tuesday strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the main aim of the war is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity. He has said the aim of the new campaign is to force the group to give up remaining hostages.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that at least 20 people were killed in strikes on Rafah and Khan Younis in southern the enclave on Sunday.

It said that eight were killed in an attack on a house in Al Jenina neighbourhood of Rafah and another two people in Al Hashasheen area in the city. In Khan Younis, four were killed and others injured in a strike on a house east of the city and another two women were killed in a separate attack in the west. Two were killed and others injured in a strike on a tent housing displaced people in Al Mawasi area. Two others were killed in a strike on a house north of the city.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Sunday issued an eviction warning on X for residents in the Tel Al Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah, saying the military was launching an onslaught there to eradicate “terrorist organisations”.

Hamas has accused Israel of breaking the terms of the January ceasefire agreement by refusing to begin negotiations for an end to the war and a withdrawal of its troops from Gaza. But Hamas has said it is still willing to negotiate and was studying “bridging” proposals from US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

In a separate development, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are allied with Hamas, launched another missile at Israel overnight and into Sunday, setting off air raid sirens. The Israeli military said the projectile was intercepted, and there were no reports of casualties or damage.

The Houthis resumed their attacks on Israel, portraying them as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians, despite recent US strikes targeting the Yemeni rebels.