Palestinian death toll in Gaza war passes 50,000 as Israel expands airstrikes

Israel’s military sent ground troops into parts of Rafah as thousands of Palestinians fled after new evacuation orders.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Sunday, as new Israeli airstrikes killed at least 26 Palestinians overnight, including a Hamas political leader and several women and children.

Israel’s military also sent ground troops into parts of the southern city of Rafah as thousands of Palestinians fled after new evacuation orders.

Late on Saturday, Israel’s Cabinet 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.

Smoke filled street, people are barely visible — Israel renewed strikes on Gaza, killing 19 people including a senior Hamas leader (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

Israeli defence 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”.

Palestinians could be seen walking along a dirt road and carrying their belongings in their arms, a recurring scene in a war that has forced most of Gaza’s population to flee, often multiple times.

“It’s displacement under fire,” said Mustafa Gaber, a local journalist who left Tel al-Sultan with his family.

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a structure hit by an Israeli bombardment (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

“There are wounded people among us. The situation is very difficult,” he said.

Amal Nassar, also displaced from Rafah, said: “The shells are falling among us and the bullets are (flying) above us.

“The elderly have been thrown into the streets. An old woman was telling her son, ‘Go and leave me to die.’ Where will we go?”

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it lost contact with a team of medics responding to the strikes. Spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh said some were wounded.

There was no immediate comment from Israel’s military, which says it only targets militants. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas.

Wide view of destroyed buildings — Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations (Leo Correa/AP)

Bardawil was a well-known member of the group’s political wing who gave media interviews over the years.

Hospitals in southern Gaza said they had received a further 24 bodies from strikes overnight, including several women and children.

People carry bundles of wood — Residents said tanks had advanced into an area of the southern city of Rafah as the military ordered it evacuated (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

Dr Munir al-Boursh, the ministry’s general director, said the dead include 15,613 children, with 872 of them under one year old.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up over half the dead. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

Thousands of people hold up phones with the flash on, signs and Israeli flags — People take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

In the latest ceasefire’s first phase, 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others were released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli forces pulled back, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to return to what remained of their homes.

There was a surge in humanitarian aid until Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza earlier this month to pressure Hamas to change the ceasefire agreement.

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

Crowd of demonstrators with smoke from a red/pink flare — People take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas after the second phase of ceasefire negotiations fell apart (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

Hundreds of Israelis gathered outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem on Sunday to protest his handling of the war and his attempt to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security service.

One protester, Avital Halperin, said: “I’m worried for the future of this country. And I think it has to stop. We have to change direction.”

Stream of people carrying their belongings down a road — Palestinians have been ordered to evacuate the region again after ceasefire talks collapsed (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

This brings the number of settlements, considered illegal by the majority of the international community, to 140, said anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now.

They will now receive independent budgets from Israel and can elect their own local governments, the group said.

Rubble of building after US airstrike — Iran-backed Houthi rebels have resumed attacks against Israel despite recent US strikes against them (AP)

The Houthis resumed attacks on Israel after it ended the Gaza ceasefire, portraying them as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians. Trump ordered the renewal of U.S. strikes on the rebels last week over its previous attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

The rebels have said they are trying to blockade Israel, but most of the ships they have targeted have no connection to the conflict.