Israeli Strikes Kill At Least Six Palestinians In Gaza, Death Toll Surpasses 73,000

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, with medics saying an Israeli airstrike killed at least four people near Al-Yeman Al-Saeed Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp and two others were killed in separate shooting incidents in Khan Younis and in Gaza City.

The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has surpassed 73,000, Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday, with the number of deaths now 73,001 according to the health ministry's tally.

Al Jazeera

Mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey wrapped up week-long talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions on implementing the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, which would involve Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing its forces.

The Times of Israel said the Hamas-run health ministry put the death toll at 73,001 and that Palestinian terror operatives had killed four Israeli soldiers in the same period, with a fifth soldier killed in the Strip in a friendly fire incident.

The PBS/AP report said the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal reached in October ended full-scale military operations and led to the return of all the remaining hostages, but other elements have stalled as Hamas has refused to disarm and Israeli troops have advanced in Gaza rather than withdrawn.

An Israeli military official told AFP that the strikes had targeted “terrorists” in the area, without elaborating, while the PBS/AP report said Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat and blames Hamas for civilian deaths.

The Times of Israel reported that Hamas and other factions said they had given a written response to a 15-point blueprint presented to them by the mediators and Trump’s Board of Peace, and that sources close to the talks said the factions agreed to 14 out of the 15 items.

PBS

Hamas blames the absence of a full agreement to end the Gaza conflict on what it says is Israel’s refusal to fulfill first-phase obligations agreed in October, which halted major fighting but did not end Israeli operations, while Israel says its strikes are intended to thwart imminent attacks by Hamas and other terror operatives.

The Times of Israel also said mediators stepped up efforts to salvage the US-brokered ceasefire, and that an October 2025 truce brokered by Trump has failed to fully halt Israeli strikes in Gaza or to secure the disarmament of the terror group.

PBS/AP said progress on reconstruction, Israeli troop withdrawals and the establishment of a new Palestinian government is being held up by the deadlock over disarming Hamas, with Nickolay Mladenov saying ceasefire hinges on Hamas' disarmament.

The Guardian reported on Sunday that the International Committee of the Red Cross fears that thousands of Palestinians who are still buried beneath the rubble may never be identified, with a spokesperson telling the newspaper that bodies that have yet to be recovered “could soon become difficult to identify.”

“Israel continues its deadly military operations in Gaza despite the ceasefire”

RFI

The Times of Israel said the recovery process has been slow because Israel has not responded to repeated requests for heavy machinery, forcing recovery teams to use shovels, pickaxes, and even their own hands as they search through the rubble that covers the Gaza Strip.

The Times of Israel quoted the ICRC spokesman saying “Search and recovery teams need access to all sites where human remains are thought to be located,” and added that the ICRC is in “ongoing direct dialogue with the relevant authorities” to allow heavy machinery into Gaza.

RFI reported that Israel continues its deadly military operations in Gaza despite the ceasefire, saying that on Friday, December 19, six Palestinians including a baby were killed when a tank shell struck the building’s second floor during a wedding held in a school in the al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City.

RFI said Civil Defense teams were prevented from intervening for at least two hours, and quoted Nafiz al-Nader outside Al-Chifa Hospital saying, “This is not a truce, it’s a bloodbath, we want it to stop,” while also stating that since October 10 at least 401 Palestinians have been killed.