Palestinian death toll in Gaza war passes 50,000; strikes continue

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry said 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 part of the southern city of Rafah as thousands of Palestinians fled after new evacuation orders.

Israel ended the latest ceasefire last week with a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds, and it has launched ground incursions in northern Gaza. The military claimed to have “eliminated” dozens of militants in recent days.

Israel’s Cabinet late Saturday approved a proposal to set up a new directorate for advancing the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians in line with U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to depopulate Gaza and rebuild it for others. Palestinians say they do not want to leave their homeland, and rights groups say the plan could amount to expulsion in violation of international law.

The military ordered people to leave Rafah’s already heavily destroyed Tel al-Sultan neighborhood on foot along a single route to Muwasi, a sprawling area of squalid tent camps. The war has forced most of Gaza’s population of over 2 million to flee within the territory, often multiple times.

“It’s displacement under fire,” said Mustafa Gaber, a journalist who left with his family. He said tank and drone fire echoed nearby.

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

“Enough is enough. We are exhausted,” a fleeing Ayda Abu Shaer said as black smoke rose in the distance.