Gaza death toll reaches 73,914, health ministry reports

Gaza's health ministry said on Wednesday that the total number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has reached 73,914, while 174,952 others have been wounded, according to its daily bulletin.

The ministry said one of the newly recorded victims had died of wounds sustained earlier, while three bodies were recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings. It did not specify the period covered by the latest figures.

Since a ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025, the ministry has recorded 1,394 deaths and 4,839 wounded, and said 834 bodies have been recovered from under the debris during that period. The ministry has repeatedly said that many victims remain trapped beneath the rubble of destroyed structures and that its teams lack the equipment needed to reach them.

The figures cover the period since the war began in October 2023, which the ministry has described as a genocidal war. The conflict, which Israel launched after the Hamas-led Al-Aqsa Storm Operation on October 7, 2023, has devastated much of Gaza's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and residential districts. International aid agencies have warned of a severe humanitarian crisis, with shortages of food, medicine, clean water and fuel, and limited access for relief convoys.

Casualty counts in Gaza are compiled by the health ministry from hospitals and medical points across the territory. Because of the scale of the destruction and the difficulty of reaching some areas, the ministry has said the true toll is likely higher than the recorded figures, with thousands of people still missing and presumed dead under the rubble.

According to Mehr News, the ministry released the updated numbers in its daily bulletin, which also noted the recovery of three bodies from destroyed buildings and the death of one person from previously sustained wounds.