Seven months after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was supposed to end the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip that launched in October 2023, rising violence has pushed monthly Palestinian fatalities to their highest level of 2024, according to official Palestinian health data. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed Tuesday that Israeli forces killed at least 119 Palestinians across Gaza in May, a toll that includes 19 children and 10 women.
The surge in deaths comes amid a clear escalation of Israeli bombardment and ground operations across the blockaded enclave, with multiple ceasefire violations recorded on a near-daily basis. Local Palestinian media outlets documented 11 separate Israeli breaches of the truce agreement in just a 24-hour period, each leaving a trail of deaths and injuries among civilian populations. On Wednesday morning, fresh attacks were reported: Israeli military vehicles opened heavy fire on locations in eastern Khan Younis, a densely populated area in southern Gaza, while separate strikes hit eastern zones of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern part of the territory.
Cumulative data from Gaza’s Government Media Office paints a far broader picture of sustained violence since the ceasefire took effect. Officials report more than 3,000 total Israeli violations across all of Gaza, encompassing everything from heavy shelling and precision air strikes to direct targeting of civilian communities, the complete demolition of entire residential neighborhoods, and ongoing ground incursions into populated areas. These violations have already killed more than 933 Palestinians, wounded an additional 2,868, and left at least 82 people abducted by Israeli forces since the truce went into effect.
The mounting death toll from these attacks pushes the total number of Palestinians killed since the outbreak of hostilities in October 2023 to 72,942, with thousands more still unaccounted for, trapped and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings across Gaza.
Gaza’s de facto governing authority Hamas has issued multiple sharp condemnations of the continued Israeli operations, labeling them ongoing “crimes and violations” of the ceasefire. In a pre-recorded address released Tuesday, Abu Obeida, the movement’s military spokesperson, denounced the persistent daily killing of Palestinian civilians and resistance fighters, noting that Israeli forces have assassinated several high-ranking Hamas leaders over the past month.
“If our cowardly enemy imagines that it can weaken us by assassinating our leaders, then their blood is the fuel that propels our ship through difficulties and proof of the truth of our cause, our leadership, our unity with our people, and our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for them,” Abu Obeida said in his speech.
In a separate statement, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem pushed back against recent claims that the movement refuses to cede administrative control of Gaza, dismissing the allegations as “misleading lies aimed at providing cover for the occupation to continue its aggression.” Qassem placed blame for the stalled administrative transition squarely on Israel and Nickolay Mladenov, director-general of the American Board of Peace, saying the two parties have blocked a proposed technocratic committee from entering Gaza to take over governance from Hamas.
Critics note that Israeli actions extend far beyond military strikes to undermine the terms of the truce. Beyond ongoing attacks and territorial incursions that have seen Israel seize additional land across Gaza, the Israeli government has also severely restricted the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave, worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis for the 2 million Palestinians trapped in the territory. These combined actions have effectively derailed progress toward the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which was intended to cement a lasting end to hostilities.