Daijiworld Media Network – Gaza City
Gaza City, Jul 7: Gaza's Health Ministry has said the death toll from the ongoing war has risen to 73,098, even as violence continued across the enclave during a week that marked 1,000 days since the conflict began.
According to the ministry, 1,072 people have been killed since the October ceasefire, while Gaza's Government Media Office claimed that more than 90 per cent of the territory has been destroyed during the conflict.
Israeli strikes continued throughout the week. Local reports said at least three Palestinians were killed in a drone strike near al-Hilu station on Jul. 1, while several others, including a child, were killed in subsequent attacks in Gaza City and Khan Younis. Airstrikes also reportedly hit tents sheltering displaced civilians in the designated humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi.
The enclave's healthcare system remains under severe strain, with patients and wounded civilians staging a protest outside Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital, demanding that Israel ease restrictions on medical evacuations. Gaza health authorities said more than 20,000 patients are awaiting permission to leave through the Rafah crossing for treatment abroad.
Separately, the family of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, expressed concern over his deteriorating health while in Israeli custody. His son, Elyas Abu Safiya, said his father had suffered severe physical abuse and was experiencing breathing and speech difficulties after more than 555 days in detention.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called for Dr Abu Safiya's immediate release, stating that his continued detention violates international human rights obligations.
Meanwhile, political developments gathered pace as Hamas announced the resignation of its government in Gaza and said authority would eventually be transferred to a technocratic committee under a proposed reconstruction framework backed by the United States. However, the transfer of power has yet to be implemented.
Ali Shath, who heads the proposed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, said the committee was prepared to assume its responsibilities once the necessary administrative and security arrangements were in place, including the establishment of a unified governing authority.
The US-backed Board of Peace, which is involved in reconstruction planning, also said the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) would have no role in a future Gaza administration, a position rejected by Palestinian leaders.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid the foundation stone for a new heritage centre at the former Qalandia Airport site, part of the wider Atarot settlement project. Earlier, Israel's Security Cabinet approved plans for 13 new settlements in the Binyamin bloc, a move Palestinian authorities said would further isolate East Jerusalem from surrounding Palestinian communities.
Palestinian officials and rights groups also reported continued expansion of settlement outposts, demolitions of Palestinian properties and increasing settler violence across the occupied territory.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 2,300 Palestinians, including over 1,000 children, have been displaced in the West Bank during 2026, while 121 Palestinian communities have experienced full or partial displacement since 2023.
Note: The figures and allegations in this report are based on statements by Gaza's Health Ministry, the Gaza Government Media Office, Palestinian officials, the United Nations and other cited organisations. Israel disputes some casualty figures and characterisations of the conflict, and has stated that its military operations target militant groups while taking measures to minimise civilian harm.