Gaza death toll tops 70,000 as ceasefire fails to stop Israeli bombing

The number of people confirmed killed by Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip has passed the 70,000 mark, the enclave's health ministry said on Saturday.

A total of 301 people have been added to the toll since Thursday, taking it to 70,100, the ministry added. Two were killed by recent Israeli strikes, while the rest were identified from remains buried for some time in the rubble, according to the statement.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has questioned the accuracy of the figures from Gaza, though it has not published its own estimate.

Israel's bombardment of Gaza has left much of the strip in ruins, making it difficult to gather accurate information on casualties.

In the first months of the war, officials counted bodies that arrived in hospitals and registered names and identity numbers.

In the later stages, Gaza health authorities said they held off on including thousands of reported deaths in the official tally until forensic, medical and legal checks could be made.

Since a ceasefire took hold on October 10, the reported death toll has kept climbing steadily as authorities there take advantage of the relative calm to search for bodies in the wreckage. Israel has also killed hundreds of Palestinians since the truce came into force.

The Israeli onslaught, which is increasingly being recognised as a genocide, has wiped out entire Palestinian families.

Moaz Mghari said he had lost 62 relatives, including his parents and four siblings, in a series of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed two residential buildings near the entrance to Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip.

He told Reuters he had been at a nearby clothing shop when he heard the sound of explosions and the sky turned dark with dust. He rushed home to find his family's building turned to rubble.

"Then I began to realise what happened, I lost everything, I lost everyone," Mghari said.

Israel's military has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, though evidence from the ground has indicated otherwise. Statements from Israeli leaders, including the country's President Isaac Herzog, have also been cited in South Africa's genocide filing against Israel in the International Court of Justice as proof of genocidal intent.