Israel-Gaza latest: Israel takes control of Gaza side of Rafah crossing, killing 20 militants – with aid reportedly halted

The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 34,789 Palestinians have now been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October.

The figures reported by the ministry do not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

A further 78,204 have been injured, it added.

For context: While some Israeli officials have sought to cast doubt on fatality figures given out by the Palestinian Health Authority in Gaza, a number of independent groups say they have proved to be largely reliable and broadly in line with those later produced by the UN and Israel itself.

Examination of data from previous Gaza conflicts (the Hamas-run health ministry’s counts compared with the post-war United Nations analysis) shows that the initial data is largely accurate with, at most, a 10-12% discrepancy.

Brian Root, a senior quantitative analyst at Human Rights Watch, says the ministry’s figures have “always been comparable” to his own findings. “There’s nothing that would lead us to distrust the numbers.”