A new update from Gaza’s Health Ministry exposes the continuing scale of "Israel’s" genocide, reporting more than 69,000 Palestinians killed and over 170,000 injured since October 7, 2023.

The ministry said on Saturday that “the number of victims of Israeli aggression [in Gaza] since October 7, 2023 has reached 69,169, while 170,685 people were injured,” a figure that reflects the devastation inflicted on the besieged population. Officials added that these numbers include 284 martyrs whose status was recently verified by the Governmental Committee for the Accreditation of Martyrs between October 31 and November 7.

These figures come even as a ceasefire technically remains in place, though "Israel" continues to breach the agreement through repeated attacks across several areas of the Strip. Over the past 72 hours alone, 10 additional martyrs and several injured Palestinians have arrived at hospitals, with civil defense teams still struggling to reach victims trapped beneath destroyed buildings due to ongoing Israeli obstruction and the devastation of Gaza’s infrastructure.

Martyr Returns

Despite ongoing violations, the truce framework has moved forward on certain humanitarian tracks. Under the deal that took effect on October 10, Hamas released the final 20 surviving Israeli captives still held in Gaza. In return, "Israel" freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza, many of whom were seized during the early months of the assault.

Hamas has also begun transferring the remains of Israeli captives who died during the war, with nearly two dozen bodies returned and identified so far. At the same time, Palestinian authorities confirmed that "Israel" handed over 15 additional bodies of Palestinian martyrs on Friday through the ICRC, raising the total number of returned bodies to 300. Only 89 of them have been formally identified, as medical teams continue to document, examine, and prepare the remaining bodies for handover to their families.

Camp Horrors

Health officials have warned that many of the returned bodies show signs of severe mutilation. Earlier in October, Gaza’s Health Ministry revealed that at least 135 bodies returned by "Israel" originated from the Sde Teiman concentration camp in southern occupied Palestine, where Palestinian detainees have been tortured, kept in cages, blindfolded, shackled to beds, and forced to wear diapers. Doctors in Khan Younis reported evidence of summary executions, point-blank gunfire, crushed limbs, and torture, reinforcing widespread accusations of systematic killings inside Israeli detention sites.

The humanitarian picture is further compounded by the more than 10,000 missing Palestinians still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, according to the National Committee for Missing Persons. Rescue teams continue to face severe restrictions due to the Israeli blockade, lack of heavy equipment, and widespread destruction of roads and critical infrastructure.

While the prisoner releases mark a key component of the ceasefire arrangements, the staggering casualty numbers underline the catastrophic human cost Palestinians continue to face under occupation, siege, and relentless aggression.

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