Over 900 killed in Gaza since October ceasefire despite truce, health ministry says

More than 900 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza this year despite the ceasefire, according to latest figures from the territory's Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

It brings the total number of people killed in the Strip since the 10 October ceasefire was declared to more than 1,300, including 301 children, the ministry says.

Hamas and Israel agreed to halt the war after accepting US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan. That plan included a suspension of "all military operations, including aerial and artillery bombardment".

Since then, BBC Verify has analysed dozens of videos which show the impact of Israeli strikes on locations including a beachside cafe, tents where displaced people have been sheltering, and a reported funeral procession in central Gaza.

Recent months have been some of the most deadly according to the figures, with more than 100 people recorded killed each month between April and August.

The health ministry attributes the deaths directly to Israeli military action, but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The UN considers the figures reliable, and experts have told BBC Verify that their independent analysis is consistent with the ministry's data.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) disputes the ministry's figures. It told BBC Verify there is "no basis to assume" that all those listed were killed as a result of IDF activity.

It said it operates in "a precise manner to remove threats and protect its troops and Israeli civilians, in accordance with the agreement", and that it works to mitigate any civilian harm "to the greatest extent possible".

At the start of this year Israeli media reported that an Israeli security official acknowledged more than 70,000 people had been killed in the Gaza war, which it said included more than 20,000 combatants.

From the start of the ceasefire agreement on 10 October to the end of that month, the ministry recorded 251 deaths. Since then the deadly Israeli attacks have continued every month. The highest monthly death toll this year was recorded in July, when 152 people were killed including 21 children, according to the figures.

The IDF says five of its soldiers have been killed in combat since the ceasefire and one contractor was killed in an "operational accident".

It also says it has killed hundreds of military operatives since October.

Conflict monitoring group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Acled), which uses official statements, media reports and social media to verify attacks, says it has recorded around 200 Israeli strikes during the ceasefire that have reportedly killed Hamas operatives or other armed "militants" in targeted strikes.

Acled said this includes commanders involved in planning the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people with 251 taken hostage.

Hugh Lovatt, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said "Gaza has seen a ceasefire in name only" since last October. He said the Israeli military has continued its almost daily air and drone strikes, and "though it claims to be targeting Hamas or imminent threats, it is Gaza's civilians that have continued to bear the brunt".

This could now be a "central stumbling block" in international efforts to implement Trump's ceasefire deal, he added.

The IDF told BBC Verify it "remains committed" to the ceasefire agreement and that there have been "continued violations and threats posed by Hamas and other terror organizations" in Gaza.

BBC Verify has analysed dozens of videos of attacks in Gaza carried out since the ceasefire.

In one, emergency services are seen attending to people in the aftermath of a strike at a beachside cafe in Gaza City on 18 August, where six people were killed, according to the health ministry. The next day nine people, including a 13-year-old, were reportedly killed in a strike on a police headquarters in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood.

The IDF said it was targeting Hamas commanders and terrorists in the two incidents and that "steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians".

One of the deadliest single incidents in July was a strike on a reported funeral procession in Nuseirat. Seven people were killed and 22 injured, according to the Al-Awda Hospital where casualties were taken. Several verified images show nine people covered in blood lying on the street. Two people appear to still be alive and are being treated by bystanders.

The IDF said it was targeting a "significant military operative" of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group who was involved in the 7 October 2023 attacks.

Independent research group Airwars works to identify civilian deaths from a range of open sources including news agencies, NGOs and social media, matching names it finds to those published by the health ministry.

Director Emily Tripp told BBC Verify the ministry's data on death tolls is consistent with its own tracking and research, and that it recorded more than 60 deadly incidents in July.

"This is the highest number of fatal incidents we've seen in a month since the ceasefire," Tripp said. "Our own findings point to an increasing number of civilian harm incidents a month."

Professor Michael Spagat from Royal Holloway, University of London, is the chair of Every Casualty Counts, a charity that studies death tolls in wars. He told BBC Verify that the figures recorded by the health ministry are "testable" because it publishes names, ages and ID numbers of the dead.

He said that since April, the monthly death toll in Gaza has been roughly double what was seen in December. "July was the worst month but even August's lower toll is still high compared with the November to March period," he added.

Additional reporting Paul Brown, Benedict Garman and Lamees Altalebi